AI
by Philosophical Riddle
Summary: When Uchiha Sasuke agree's to house an A.I. -perfect humanoids that help living easier-, he didn't expect to be confronted with a... 'Unrefined' blonde. And Itachi's enjoying all of it. SASUNARU. Rating: M, not T! :3
1. Prolouge

**A.I.**

Rumours have it that Uchiha Corps is only steps away from fully perfecting their A.I. system - perfect humanoids built to make basic living easier. However, being in the last stages require for the A.I.'s to be tested for reliability – and who better suited for such a job then the heir to the whole company, Uchiha Sasuke? Unfortunately for him though, his A.I. is a lot more 'unrefined' then he would have liked.

**Instalment 1ne;;**

_** Prologue**_

It all started, albeit, strangely, in the fact that it was _Itachi _who had recommended him to the board of councils. Even if Sasuke was the one to take on the business after Itachi's inevitable retire, he hadn't exactly taken part in anything to do with the A.I. system, or 'Epsilon', as some of the lab geeks highly enjoyed calling it. In fact, Sasuke had as little to do with the research as an infant baby had, knowing nothing [nor caring] for _anything _that had to do with Uchiha Corps and their latest shenanigans. Which Itachi ultimately saw as a benefit – something to do with Sasuke having a fresh and unbiased/unfiltered view on what to do when the youngest took control. The only goals in mind Sasuke had was to _get out of the house_ and _away from the old man_. That was... Both young Uchiha's happened to inevitably _still _live with their parents.

And it is due to this 'parent' issue that Sasuke came to agree to the whole scenario – agreeing to take responsibility and _care _for some robot that looked like a human [something he only _considered _due to _**IT **_not being human]. The offer was, as Itachi put in such graceful terms; "You take care of 'Epsilon' and you get your own apartment." Such brotherly understanding of the others wants and needs. But alas, he was to gain himself a personal assistant [more or less] in 3 hundred hours, military time, and as of now, he'd already been 'living' in his new home for a good week or so. Choosing when to wake up, when to go to sleep, what to eat, what _not _to eat – _when _to take a bath – oh yes, living alone was most _definitely _suited to the young man known as Uchiha Sasuke. Being nineteen and free of all parental obligations really played well with the obsidian-eyed man, more so considering he _knew _Itachi had _twice _the workload now that his little slave was gone. This was like how you eat something which isn't yours but tastes _so much_ _more_ better _because_ it isn't yours. Yup, ohohoho, in this apartment, _Sasuke _was _KING._

King Sasuke. Master Sasuke. Emperor Sasuke. Nay, King Sasuke had a better ring to it. He was King Sasuke of the Sasuke Empire, which temporarily was limited to _this _apartment. _His _apartment. All great kings started out small.

And messy. Apparently. His apartment was a pit hole of scattered trashcans and late night takeaways. His kitchen sink was overloaded with dirty dishes and glasses, toilet stank like shit – literally - and his bedroom... Was a place where he wouldn't want his _mom _or even a random _person _to ever walk into. If they could. But you couldn't blame him, Sasuke was just so accustomed to maids, servants, _and slaves_. People who acted on his every whim and needs without him even _knowing _what those whims were – that's just how his folk's house worked. And stupidly, that's how Sasuke had expected his apartment to work. Oh, he would never be able to live it down if that Hyuuga saw his house.

Strangely enough though, it was on this pitiful train of thoughts that awoke Sasuke to the prospect of being hungry, in which it turned out that he, in fact, _was_. And mightily so. Unfortunately, it was midday, which in Sasuke's vocabulary meant that it was evening, heading onto night, and the only piece of food he _had _or was capable of _eating _was the same piece of food he'd had for breakfast _and _lunch. And also for a snack... After lunch... Probably an hour ago. The teen Uchiha closed the open balcony door [his apartment was beautifully located on the fourth floor], flicking on the lights so his house didn't darken along with the outside sky, choosing to stumble his way across pieces of furniture, rubbish and the usual packages that had yet to be put in their rightful place, all the way to the kitchen. He'd finished packing all of his crap from home, all of it was currently in his apartment, and most of it was in fact in its rightful places across the apartment. The only packages that _weren't _unpacked yet were the photo albums, university books and Uchiha Corps forms Itachi had sent him to deal with _five months ago_. Some legal contract binding all of Itachi's profits to him in case something 'unfortunate' [a more pleasant word for 'killed', 'murdered', 'silenced'] happened to the current owner of the company. He'd get onto that as soon as he ate food!

Speaking of which, so many flavours to choose from. Vegetable? Miso? Pork chop? For breakfast, he'd had the tomato flavour, then for lunch pork chop, then for the snack vegetable... So miso it was. And dear goodness, Sasuke could feel in his stomach just how _badly _he was hungry. If this self-starvation kept on going on, he'd have to run back home with his tail between his leg. Of which many creatures had tails. Not just dogs.

With the kettle having finally boiled the water it contained, and the ramen having been placed perfectly in a rounded dish, Sasuke felt the sudden urge to make himself some tea. And so he did, he was a free man, tea was in his capability, the simple tea anyway. So with tea ready, water poured over the ramen, thus making _that _ready, all there was left to do was _eat_. And eat he did---

---Correction. And eat he would _do_. For when the jet black haired man was about to take a delicious first bite, the sound of his elder brother's key scraping and turning in the door knob brought his attention, distracting him from the food at hand. From Sasuke's position, his was unable to see the door and inevitably, the living room, where Itachi would soon be entering, most likely with the damn A.I. And from Sasuke's position, he could hear the door finally open, the calm greeting from the elder brother to notify his presence, and the shuffling of feet to where the sound of bending seat indicated that Itachi had seated himself.

And from Sasuke's position, the young Uchiha could see that during his distraction, his Miso flavoured Ramen had gone terribly cold.

To Be Continued.

* * *

Pssht.

Sue me. Hey there, I liek your hair, who does your hair~ I wanna go there, Pssh yaah~ Sue me. Again. I hate strawberries. [would love a review though]

Oh, and second chapter is already done, just gonna do teh drumrolls and piss the living daylights out of you all, because I want to enjoy _every _flavour of this I can get. :3333 [[~young]]


	2. Artificial Intelligence

**Last Time;; **From Sasuke's position, his was unable to see the door and inevitably, the living room, where Itachi would soon be entering, most likely with the damn A.I. And from Sasuke's position, he could hear the door finally open, the calm greeting from the elder brother to notify his presence, and the shuffling of feet to where the sound of bending seat indicated that Itachi had seated himself.

And from Sasuke's position, the young Uchiha could see that during his distraction, his Miso flavoured Ramen had gone terribly cold.

**Instalment 2wo;;**

_**Artificial Intelligence**_

The Uchiha Corps [Uchiha Corporation] is a large company known internationally for its creation of high quality products, ranging from medicine to LCD plasma screens, from mobile phones to broadband connection, the Uchiha Corps have and had committed themselves to a wide range of products, and these wide ranges of products were spread out across the world, from Europe to Africa. Of course, with the inevitable diversity of production line across the world, it is obvious that most of the companies and business' were bought under contract and now harbour the Uchiha Corps logo and name, a normal part of everyday business dealings. Only natural. And of course, such big companies such as the Uchiha Corps had big rivals, rivals that were strong enough to almost _equal _the Uchiha's, and one of date is the Byakugan Bank, of which it was _anything _but a bank. The Uchiha Corps and Byakugan Bank were arch rivals, reaching back up to almost _sixty _years of fierce competition that had only grown more fierce over the decades. Alas, the rivalry wasn't contained only to the business side of dealings, and the main families behind both the U.C. and B.B. had always been known for being rather _drastic _rivals in almost _everything_ they did. In fact, both companies' epic beginnings seemed to have stemmed from the epic beginning of the relationship between the father of Uchiha Sasuke and the father of Hyuuga Neji, who apparently just happen to be classmates in their University. Apparently, as the story goes, the two men filed a bet on who would become top of the business ladder in fifty years time for _one dollar_. Of which the Hyuuga's won... After fifty years, polls showed that The Byakugan Bank was earning just a tad bit more money than the Uchiha Corporation was.

The hopes of one dollar brought these two men to reach the top of the world. Truly an inspirational pair.

Alas, after ten more years, Uchiha Kensei [the father of Itachi and Sasuke] was able to get his dollar back, after yet another bet between him and Hyuuga Ren [the father of Neji] with the year span of ten years, in which the Uchiha Corps topped the charts _over _the Byakugan Bank. This was mostly abled due to the _generous _investments from other companies, banks, _governments_ as well as personal donations. This only infuriated the Byakugan holders, also piqueing their interests as to why their rivals were getting such investments. Slight briberies, a bit of hired snooping and the Bank of Byakugan had to say they were... Impressed, if not slightly mortified at what the Uchiha Corps had been secretly working on behind the public's back for the last decade. Did those darn Uchiha's _really _think they could create Artificial Intelligence? This was the 21st century! You couldn't make robots that looked _exactly _like humans and acted _exactly _like humans without repercussion! Where were all the religious outcries? Where was the mere _logic _that you _couldn't _do it?!

But fortunately for both companies [ooh, the Hyuuga's weren't far off in their _own _A.I. research], there were no signs of any interference. And thus, a partnership between the Uchiha Corps and Byakugan Bank was forged, signed and permitted to history, stating that the two companies would act as one when it came to such research, at least, until... Making robots was a normal everyday occurrence. Then they'd split off and try and beat each other all over again. Now, both companies have their headquarters located in Asia, Japan to be exact. Nothing unusual, the greatest companies such as SONY and even Nintendo [at least, popular belief indicates Nintendo to be a Japanese company...] own their headquarters in the Oriental side of Asia. With the written treaty between the U.C. and B.B., a new building was created, housing tons of labs and research facilities completely open to both the companies, in where the Uchiha's and Hyuuga's were to work in perfect harmony into making _more _money. Here, the greatest and most talented scientists and engineers were brought from all over the world. Teams were assigned, each one with their own objective to complete, and somewhere along the lines the ownership of the Uchiha Corporation was transferred from Uchiha Kensei to Uchiha Itachi, the eldest son of Kensei.

And this, my dear friends, is where the _real _improvement came.

A sudden revamp on the treaty between the Uchiha Corps and Byakugan Bank was completed, one that tore an outcry from the latter company, thus nullifying all cooperation between the two useless. Not a day later, the half share of the research facility that the Hyuuga's owned was bought by the Uchiha Corps for a staggering price of 6.5million dollars, causing Uchiha Kensei to fall victim to four _simultaneous _heart attacks landing him in Hospital for a good two months. But Uchiha Itachi wasn't just merely a spender, he was an investor, and the money soon came flooding back in after pitching advertisement sales and nullifying _plenty _of jobs in the A.I. research facility and replacing them with what Itachi called "more efficient imbeciles" of which a certain man of notable expertise was among. This man was simply called Arashi. And this man [who was purely Japanese even with his questionable blonde hair] happened to be Itachi's _colleague_ from a long time ago – where exactly from is pretty much unknown. And that was the _last _piece of information that the public [and Byakugan Bank] received about the research, thus effectively putting the whole building and its inside happenings shrouded under a cloth of darkness.

At least... Until a public announcement from Uchiha Itachi himself announced that the A.I –Artificial Intelligence- research was now in its testing stages, the last and final stage, and the Uchiha were "proud to present _another _high quality 'product' from the Uchiha Corps".

Product.

So the Uchiha's believed that they were finally able to place them self on the same level as God himself. Knowing those prideful bastards, they were probably already changing all their name tags and logo's to have GOD in front, _especially _that _son_ of Kensei's – after all, the apple never falls far from the tree. Those snotty children, they had no idea that the Hyuuga's were only right behind them, and after a day or so, they too had the pleasure of announcing their Artificial Success. In fact, Hyuuga Ren felt a spice of pride as he went further into the announcement by taking personal interviews with the biggest names, Fox, CNN, even BBC. There, he took his time explaining what A.I.'s _were _and what they were intended to do. Of which was to make basic life more... Luxurious, to say the least. They were perfect for those that were too busy to socialise, and usually lived or worked alone, they were perfect to help around the house, being efficient in cleaning, cooking and even able to help the children with their homework. There were several packs that could be downloaded from the internet [for a certain fee of course] that would further expand the A.I.'s knowledge, language packs, sports bonus, even full degree's of mathematics, if one was in need of a math expert. On feeling satisfied [in front of millions of viewers], Hyuuga Ren was subject to one question; _"Nevertheless, all this will reach us through the Uchiha Corps first, right?"_

The Hyuuga's were not pleased.

Which only amused Itachi to no ends, just like the amusement he received on seeing his little brothers face twist into a rather stupid expression on finally turning around to greet Itachi and his... Companion. Poor young Sasuke, expecting something sleek, shiny and metallic to be sitting on his sofa got the shock of a lifetime when he was faced up against a young man of his own age, bright blonde hair and tanned, _human looking _skin. The boy's eyes were closed, as he seemed to be slightly slumping on his seat on the sofa, his head bent downwards, chin resting on chest as if asleep, and his chest slightly expanding now and again to indicate soft breathing. Itachi raised a delicate eyebrow, not at all perplexed as to what he'd just drove from the A.I. research facility to his brothers rather messy apartment, and thus proceeded to brush off some non-existent dust of his Prada suit – black, since it seemed to be an Uchiha trait, what with the black eyes and black hair.

On seeing that his clock read 21:37 signalling that he had a business meeting in one long hour, Itachi decided to start a conversation that maybe wouldn't further damage the in-shock status Sasuke was in. And what better way than to start a loving conversation by commenting on what your brother was about to eat? At least, Itachi _would _if he _could_. The poor food looked as if it had been blended, scraped, squashed and dumped into far non-edible mixtures that did little but sicken the elder brother. "I hope that isn't the expired Ramen that was kindly left here by the old tenant, dear brother," the calm brother said, an underlying tone of _'you shouldn't eat everything you simply see'_ as the figure next to him continued to 'sleep'.

The reply of just a small grunt that sounded oddly like how a cavemen would grunt made Itachi shake his head in dismay as he patted the blonde figure next to him, slightly angling his seating so that he was facing the blonde boy. This small movement of his seemed to finally snap Sasuke out of his remedy, and the widening of eyes and the uncharacteristic stuttering brought a small smirk to the elder Uchiha's face.

"A-a-a-a... A-a... I... ii?" Did Itachi just see a rodent scrambling behind the television?

"Yes, Sasuke. This is your new personal A.I." Itachi answered, dislodging his mobile phone from his breast pocket, keying in some numbers until a satisfactory _BEEP! _sound made itself heard. As soon as the sound reached all occupants of the room's ear, the blonde haired boy's breathing stopped for a split second, silence suffocating the room, only then to be replaced by the movement of the blonde's head that picked itself up to face straight ahead, now sitting properly on the blondes shoulder and neck. Itachi took this moment to ask, "Have you learnt how to cook yet, Sasuke?" as the blond haired boy's eyelids opened up to reveal the deepest, brightest pair of blue eyes, so incredibly blue that it seemed to hold countless depths and untold hidden truths about the world, the universe and life itself, other than the jested answer of '42'.

"Because if you haven't, then by all means, you are lucky." Sasuke didn't bother to pay heed to his elder brothers rambling. What he was witnessing... What he was seeing was absolutely... _IMPOSSIBLE._ Was he to believe that this boy [actually a man, since Sasuke thought of himself as a man] was actually made of metal and wires and iron and steel? He was so... Perfectly made... His hair looked _real_, absolutely real and his _eyes_... They were looking at him in the cutest way, as if curious and just about to ask a question... The blond boy was staring at _him_, at _Sasuke_, nowhere else, just straight at Sasuke, and it was then that the forever to be dubbed 'Blondie' decided to ask;

"Are you my master?"

And once more, Itachi couldn't deny the rush of pure and utter amusement at what was unfolding before his very eyes.

To Be Continued

**Next Time;;** So after the initial shock was over, and ooh, that took one hell of a long hour spent by 'Sasuke' [as the blond had derived] and 'Itachi' [Blondie was _gewd~_] conversing, the blond haired boy had yet not received the answer to his initial question, but on seeing that an input of his own wasn't technically wanted by the other occupants of the house, he decided to take time on actually looking around at his surroundings and taking in the atmosphere. Even his unformatted brain could pretty much figure out that the house that he was in was absolutely filthy. Feeling the need to, a small subconscious voice decided to whisper a comment into his ear; _'Whoever owns this pit hole better not be my master'_ of which the boy fully agreed to. The walls were nice though, two side walls of a creamy white, one dark red, and the last wall being absolute, complete glass, a small door in the centre where one could exit to the balcony. Outside the glass wall, Blondie could see that the balcony was small, where a small table and two chairs were present, looking out across the pitch black night scattered with... Shiny little white diamonds... "There's diamonds in the sky...!"

The poor little boy didn't even notice 'Sasuke' go back into shock.

* * *

I think I've spelt a lot of 'blond' wrong, but I cannot be bothered to search through the document. Well, here's the first chapter after the Prolouge. Hope it's alright, not sure about the length [it was about 3 pages long on Word, font size 9!] but even if it turns out to be short the next chapter is longer. Warning; Although I have internet **NOW**, I might not like three days later. o.o

Now you got a **Next Time **to satisfy your urges. Dont know what else to say, other then after strawberries, I hate mango's [but would _love _a review~]. :3

**EDIT:** Sorry, I just dont know Sasuke and Neji's dads names. o.o" [[~young]]


	3. Epsilon

**Last Time;; **The blonde boy was staring at _him_, at _Sasuke_, nowhere else, just straight at Sasuke, and it was then that the forever to be dubbed "Blondie" asked;

"Are you my master?"

And once more, Itachi couldn't deny the rush of pure and utter amusement at what was unfolding before his very eyes.

**Instalment 3hree;;**

_**Epsilon**_

That was strange. The blonde haired boy _distinctly _remembered asking the younger of the two men whether he was indeed his master, but it seemed that he had yet to receive an answer. Maybe the person didn't hear him; maybe he hadn't just spoken loud enough, although it seemed as if the pale boy had heard him. _'Hmmm... Maybe he's sick..._' he thought, absent minded in his twirling of a blonde lock of hair that had fallen into his view. He had to be sick since he was so _pale_, such a dark contrast to his black eyes and black hair... And the guy next to him was the same too, but this one looked older around the eyes, more tired, especially with the bags. _'Am I in a hospital?'_ ooouh, their skin looked like that desk back in the research lab, in his 'bedroom', like those guys in the white coats called it. So smooth and pale... ".. Ivory..." That's what it was called, ivory... But these two guys were really pretty people... Which wasn't fair, since _he _wanted to look like them; they were white and black while _he _was blonde and blue. That's right, he knew what colour his eyes were – they'd shown it him in the lab using a mirror and asked him whether he liked it. Of which he did, he loved blue, but the... Orange... Had looked nice... _But black looked so well on them_. Their skin and hair/eye contrast made them look long and skinny just because of the white and black contrast. They looked _really _pretty, especially the younger of the two – the older one had bags under his eyes, it made him look _really _old.

Nevertheless, he was still in need of finding out who his master was, so that the blonde boy could record it into his program. Since the younger of the two hadn't answered, maybe the older would. "Are you my master, grandpa?" The blonde asked, turning with wide eyes to the elder of the Ivory brothers [a new nickname]. No answer came. Instead, the elder merely waved his right hand in a dismissive yet irritated way, almost always facing the younger, and began reciting all the stuff the guys with the white coat at the labs said he would.

"Right, Sasuke. Now that you see who you'll be keeping company for the next unknown amount of time, there's some ground rules tha..." Ooouh, the television in the house was _so big_! It was black all around, and the screen was black too, it was really thin from where he could see, and it was so wide and big and _large_!! The blue eyed youngster could hear the faint voice of the baggy-eyed brother talking, but it didn't seem directed to him so he ignored it, opting to instead simply stare at the large television, trying to measure it by amounts of fingers. So far, the TV was about... 11 fingers long. Horizontally, you know... Across!

So he didn't really see the younger Ivory's reaction to what the elder Ivory was saying, which was---

---Shock.

But not for the A.I., a young blonde man of roughly around the age of nineteen, same age as Uchiha Sasuke, the little brother to Uchiha Itachi who was the owner of the Uchiha Corps. Unfortunately, the one who almost choked on nothing but his own tongue, continued to sit on his seat _staring _at a certain Blondie, completely unaware of his own _not warm _food was Sasuke himself, now currently mind boggled as to what he was seeing. Even with the nod of confirmation he had received from Itachi that this was, in fact, the A.I. that Sasuke had been expecting, Sasuke couldn't help but foolishly interrupt Itachi by asking, "Is this... Really... _**IT**_?" Of which the raised eyebrow and disappointed look he received from Itachi was translated into a more common 'yes'.

On taking the opportunity, Itachi returned to his little run through of what Sasuke was to do with the actual A.I., starting _all over again_ since it seemed both Sasuke _and _the little blonde had completely ignored him. "Sa~suke, pay attention to what I say. You should know that this A.I. comes absolutely clean, he's pure, the knowledge he has integrated in him is all the basic stuff, like knowing what a TV, microwave, 1+2 is. The knowledge of a... 6 year old, if you will." Oh yes, the age comparison of the blonde's brain to a 6 year old had _really _caught Sasuke's attention. "The more advanced knowledge's, stuff you need to be able to have him be really useful to you will be here in a bit, brought by someone who'll be able to fully download them into _his_," a point to blue eyes. "... Brain... I suppose that's what we're supposed to call it... But anyway, those data packs don't include home-taught things such as cooking and... Socialising, of which we want you to help us gather data on. What you have to do is basically _teach _or _aid _this little Blondie into learning it. Just the basics, like how to turn on a stove, cut vegetables, meat, and place them into a frying pan. Teach him what spices are, how to season food, the usual stuff like that that you hear of cooking channels, of which you should probably start watching." On hearing this, said Blondie decided to start paying attention too, having found the television to be of less interesting then it was beforehand. "There _are _packs that'll make him a better cook then you could ever wish to be, but it would be... Fun," for him "_AND _resourceful for us too, so make sure to do that." Oh yeah, there was the Sasuke-glare. "I'll be visiting every now and so, don't really care but have to, and if I don't come someone else will, which will probably happen more often than me coming." Itachi was a busy man; he didn't have time to check up on two idiots.

So after the initial shock was over, and ooh, that took one hell of a long hour spent by 'Sasuke' [as the blonde had derived] and 'Itachi' [Blondie was _gewd~_] conversing, the blonde haired boy had yet not received the answer to his initial question, but on seeing that an input of his own wasn't technically wanted by the other occupants of the house, he decided to take time on actually looking around at his surroundings and taking in the atmosphere. Even his unformatted brain could pretty much figure out that the house that he was in was absolutely filthy. Feeling the need to, a small subconscious voice decided to whisper a comment into his ear; _'Whoever owns this pit hole better not be my master'_ of which the boy fully agreed to. The walls were nice though, two side walls of a creamy white, one dark red, and the last wall being absolute, complete glass, a small door in the centre where one could exit to the balcony. Outside the glass wall, Blondie could see that the balcony was small, where a small table and two chairs were present, looking out across the pitch black night scattered with... Shiny little white diamonds... "There's diamonds in the sky...!"

The poor little boy didn't even notice 'Sasuke' go back into shock.

With a little smirk almost escaping Itachi's facial control, he decided to add a little bit more info, giving a glance to his watch to see that he was very much late for his appointment. The client's had probably gone home already. "The A.I. is absolutely fine, if anything happens, it'll fix itself right up. However, Sasuke, and I mean this when I say it, keep Epsilon safe, okay? If news gets out of Epsilon being with you, you _will _be targeted, and he _will _be the target." Sasuke shot a confused look at Itachi, wondering why Itachi had referred to the A.I. as Epsilon, after all, wasn't Epsilon just a nickname for the full project? "No, Sasuke, it isn't. Epsilon is the codename we use for _this _little Blondie; Artificial Intelligence is for the whole project. Of course, feel free to name him whatever you want, since Epsilon isn't really a suitable name for a... Roommate."

"Roommate?" Great, Itachi was going to drop _another _little bomb on Sasuke.

"Yes, roommate. Epsilon is to bypass as your roommate, I don't want _anyone _in the general public, be it your teachers, friends [of which I believe you don't have many]," Another Sasuke-glare, he was really improving with his eyebrow control. "Or anybody else aware that this little Blondie is in fact an A.I., like I said, many will try for anything if they find out he is, understood?" A nod of confirmation, and at this particular time, the turning of the door knob grabbed all occupants' attention, all three now focusing on who would be entering the apartment. The man that entered was clad with a simple suit covered with a white lab coat, long hair that reached that just past his shoulders, absolutely stunningly blonde. His sideburns were particularly long, acting as two bangs to the side of his head rather than actual sideburns, and a little red bandanna was tied across his forehead, a small little spike of yellow hair underneath the silky red material. Sasuke almost voiced his complaint at the man holding a PDA that entered, Itachi giving a companionable wave. 'Epsilon' suddenly brightened up, seeing the familiar blue eyes that weren't his, and the young blonde jumped up dashing to hug the man's midriffs, much to said man's expectancy.

On the locking of arms around his waist, Arashi gave a comfortable chuckle, returning the blondes hug with one of his own. "So I see they already woke you up, eh, Epp-chan?" His own face was pleasant, didn't look as old as Itachi's did, but it was obvious to tell that the two men were off the same age range, if not exactly the same. He waved to Sasuke, completely unaffected by the glare of utter hatred he received in reply, and plopped himself on the three-piece sofa Itachi and Blondie had been sitting on, completely at ease in the apartment. It was once Arashi was seated that Sasuke began noticing the similarities between said man and the A.I. Dashing blonde hair, equally [if not more] dashing _blue_ [one colour couldn't define those eyes] eyes, and the rather infectious [to everyone _but _Uchiha's] smile. The two could easily pass as a father and son couple, they just looked so alike. But it seemed that only Sasuke was picking up on the similarities and _doubting _them, because Itachi seemed perfectly fine with both Blondie's, maybe due to overlong exposure. However, the arrival of the blonde man didn't really surprise Sasuke as much as he had been expecting it would, merely because Arashi was actually Head of the Research Lab, the 'Supervisor' that reported directly to Itachi only, not to mention the one that would presumably be in charge of 'Epsilon' – which explained the familiarity between the two.

The youngest of the Uchiha brothers sighed deeply, having long abandoned his food, oblivious to the simple conversation that had sprouted up between the two. Blondie paid full attention, for a good two minutes, until the diamonds in the sky twinkled into his view and grabbed his attention. Some were big, and some were small, but the biggest was the round fat one, which was like a silver circle stuck in a dark blue background - obviously called the 'moon'. Funny name. _Maybe... The moon is those entire little diamonds master's, and... He orders them to go around making sure that good kids get presents at Christmas, like what Arashi-san said... _Speaking of said person, Blondie hadn't yet received the answer to the question he had asked at least an hour ago, and considering that 'Sasuke' hadn't answered, 'Itachi' hadn't answered... The A.I. gasped suddenly, his eyes twinkling as bright as the diamonds in the sky, turning his full attention to a still conversing blonde Arashi. Epsilon never made note of the moving lips, of the fact that Arashi was still conversing with Itachi, and merely interrupted the high ranked pair by asking Arashi "Are you my master?". The subconscious voice in his head piped in; _He'd be an awesome master_, and Epsilon once more absolutely agreed with the comment. _My little head-voice is really clever_, he thought playfully, expecting Arashi to answer in the positive.

"Hmph... I guess I am..." Instead, Sasuke, the younger Ivory brother, was the one to answer, making Epsilon turn around to face the boy with wide [slightly shocked] blue, cerulean eyes. That was the word, cerulean. Best word to describe the A.I.'s eyes, at least that was the only word in Sasuke's mental dictionary that _seemed _to fit. The younger Uchiha sighed deeply, slightly irked out by the constant wide-eyed staring on the A.I.'s part, even after _**IT **_[it wasn't human, it wasn't human, it wasn't _human!_] received confirmation from both Itachi and Arashi. Silence fell onto the occupants of the room, except for the small beeping that was protruding from the Research Labs Supervisor's PDA, in which after a bit more clicking, he pointed it at the Blondie and a similar _BEEP! _to the one that had _awoken _the A.I. sounded. On the little electronic sound, 'Epsilon' eyes widened even further in what frighteningly looked like familiarity, and a sudden wide, face splitting, smile broke out, a loud, cheerful and bubbly voice coming from _very human looking _lips that simple shocked both Uchiha Sasuke _and _Uchiha Itachi

"HI, SASU-CHAN!!" Blondie continued to stay seated, but he looked all but ready to jump out of his seat until yet another _BEEP! _sounded from Arashi's electronic PDA, in where the happy blonde smile slightly faltered, eyes returning to their normal cerulean beauty, the smile becoming a large yet polite one. Both Uchiha's turned to the peculiar blonde researching genius, who merely grinned sheepishly in a guilty way. "Sorry, kinda uploaded my electronic journal into him instead of the basic packs..."

Of course, even with the logic of why Epsilon had suddenly burst out with such an exclamation, both Uchiha's found it questionably disturbing as to why Arashi's journal even mentioned the younger Ivory brother as 'Sasu-chan'. And with such... Excitement.

Sasuke looked at Itachi. Itachi looked at Sasuke, and the two siblings shared a deep sigh. Both Arashi and Itachi got up, the latter once more dusting non-existent dust of his Prada suit, the former patting the happy blonde's head affectionately. Sasuke got up, understanding that the two were getting ready to leave, rather glad to be able to have his apartment to himself again, although now with a new 'roommate', as annoying as that sounded. "I presume you understand everything and anything, dear brother, so myself and Arashi should really get back to the lab to inform them that the final test of our research has officially begun. Mother says; clean your clothes once a week as laundry, and father says; don't screw things up." Arashi had the nerve to chuckle, instigating one of Sasuke's ultimate Sasuke-glares, which he happened to be completely immune too. "Again, be careful with the A.I., although it shouldn't be too hard because Blondie here," a demeaning look towards said Blondie, "Will be taking care of himself. Correct?"

The A.I. turned to Itachi and adopted a salute pose, imitating a soldier accepting orders. "Yes sir!"

"And one more thing Sasuke," _Oh god, not another lecture_, thought Sasuke who was behind the now exiting Itachi and Sasuke, "I expect those forms I had delivered to you _five months ago _to be completed and on my desk in two days."

And with a hard _SLAM! _of the door, the reaction of both Epsilon and Sasuke of wincing at the door slam, Itachi and Arashi had finally left the house. Sasuke swirled around, coming to a full stop facing his personal assistant, a tanned boy around his own age, silky blonde locks of hair and round cerulean eyes, causing a small, little, paranoid voice to resonate among the Uchiha's tired brain;

_I'm still hungry._

To Be Continued

**Next Time;;** Now, with the department of Sasuke's elder brother and Arashi, he was finally free to roam among the domains of his empire, now expanded to include his trusty personal assistant, his own Artificial Intelligence named Epsilon. For now at least, he'd have to find some sort of other stupid name to give to the blond-head. Great. He had to do something. It felt just like being back at home. Now how to find _**IT's **_it's name? While thinking through his current mission of naming the little blond fellow, Sasuke found himself to be staring down at what had once been a _beautiful_-looking brea--... Lunch... Dinner? Scratching his jet-black hair, he swirled the Kamaboko slices around, the ones with the pink spirals - Narutos, as people called them. The young Uchiha disliked them, didn't know why they came along with the packet, _integrated _into the bloody food, _impossible _to pick them out until you added the boiling water - which by then would have had it's taste spread out to the noodle. At least, thats what he figured 'Narutos' to do.

Stupid Naruto.

* * *

Forgive me for the wait, and forgive me for another mistake that happens to have happened; _Arashi_. I just dont know his name. He's supposed to be the Fourth Hokage btw, incase my description of him was so obviously lame _and _Arashi _really _isn't his name. 3"

After mango's I hate... Really high pitched voices... Feminine, usually... But I _really _like reviews, oh _yes_~! x3

Also, might find many more problems in here, how about sending me a message detailing them all, and maybe you'll get a prize if you get them all right? _Maybe_. ;D

[[~young]] **somebody tell me 4th hokage's name! Please! AND HIS WIFE TOO! DX**


	4. Naruto!

**A.I.**

By Young_saiyan

* * *

**Last Time;; **And with a hard _SLAM! _of the door, the reaction of both Epsilon and Sasuke of wincing at the door slam, Itachi and Arashi had finally left the house. Sasuke swirled around, coming to a full stop facing his personal assistant, a tanned boy around his own age, silky blonde locks of hair and round cerulean eyes, causing a small, little, paranoid voice to resonate among the Uchiha's tired brain;

_I'm still hungry._

**Instalment 4our;;**

_**Naruto!**_

A slight rewind on previous information; During the transfer of power between Uchiha Kensei to Uchiha Itachi, many layoffs were experienced in the Research Facility that was co-owned by both the Uchiha Corps and Byakugan Bank. These workers were replaced with fewer workers who were more knowledgeable in their fields, thus being of more use to the Artificial Intelligence Research Facility and one of these fewer workers that is to be mentioned is Arashi - a nickname. Graduated first in his University/College course of both chemical engineering _and _electrical engineering [don't ask how, geniuses with important ties are just capable of doing illogical things], Arashi has been on a slow popularity increase among the best of the best, among the most talented and gifted men and women to have walked on this Earth. Claimed as the 21st Century equivalent of Einstein, the peak in Arashi's career happened to take place once Itachi finally announced that the Artificial Intelligence was in its final phase. The blonde haired husband [for he was married to a woman with the surname of Uzumaki] had personally tried his best with such a research, taking readings and rebooting 'Epsilon' over and over again with newer patches and versions, to take out every single flaw that could ever inhibit the blonde project. This led to a slightly building of relationship ties between the project and the supervisor, and it was easy too, considering that Arashi was a bright and friendly young man and Epsilon himself was friendly too. He was well liked, socialised perfectly, and held a bright smile that was infectious to many, but it was that same smile that held a small hint of _something _that slightly scared people with good eyes. Like Uchiha Sasuke. Now Sasuke practically _loathed _Arashi, merely due to the reason that he figured the blonde man to be a cunning, rudely-polite man who would be _perfect_ for Itachi – which was true. But then again, maybe the reason for the utter hatred the younger Uchiha harboured for the Supervisor of the Research Facility was due to Arashi's past time hobby of just simply _annoying _Sasuke. Both Itachi and Arashi would bet on who could receive the Sasuke-glare-of-death most in a day. So far, Arashi was winning due to the fact that he did it so _blatantly blunt_. Oh yes, Sasuke _hated _Arashi.

Despite the younger ones hate, Arashi and Itachi have always been in contact with each other, having both met in their first years at University/College. Itachi was majoring in Business Economics and some other crap while Arashi was multi-doing two courses of Engineer, Long story short, the two immediately hit it off, and continued to simply just... _Stay in touch_ [much to Sasuke's annoyance] over the course of years. Of course, as said before, Arashi wasn't his _real _name, merely a nickname that _many _knew him by. Including Sasuke, if the younger Uchiha was forced to think about it, Arashi had mentioned not _liking _being called by his _real _name… Minato… Minato something… Whatever the surname was wasn't important anyway, since Sasuke [when in the presence of Minato] always _called _him by his name, _not _his surname.

It felt _good _to do something _he _didn't like.

But anyway, somewhere along the lines, Arashi had met a woman who's first name Sasuke didn't really know-again [nor cared for - _again_]. All he knew was that her second name was Uzumaki, and that was because he found it _weird_, and _she _was apparently the complete opposite of Arashi, as Itachi absently commented on. Of course, Sasuke went to the pairs wedding when they finally decided to tie the knot, only to quench the curiosity of how exactly the love of Arashi _was_. And he was shocked to see that she really _was _the exact _freakin' _opposite. While Arashi enjoyed to pull strings and push buttons always with a heart-achingly polite smile, the women _would bluntly curse _at you with no intentions of covering it under flimsy pretence or _anything _that even _seemed _like subtlety. While Arashi [to those that worked under him] understood human errors and was kind to all, she was _merciless_, expected _nothing but perfection _in anything and everything, including thorough reports that held even the smallest detail as what colour the pins on a pin cushion were. The loving pair were as different as day and night, yet they strangely enough _both _worked at the A.I.R.L [Artificial Intelligence Research Lab]. _Good, hopefully she'll drown him in her seriousness and kill him off_.

Sasuke felt a small prickle of his mood picking up thanks to the thought, and reminded himself that even after a whole year of the married couples blissful relationship, he still held onto the thought and possibility of it happening. Now, with the department of Sasuke's elder brother and Arashi, he was finally free to roam among the domains of his empire, now expanded to include his trusty personal assistant, his own Artificial Intelligence named Epsilon. For now, he'd have to find some sort of other stupid name to give to the blond-head. Great. He had to do _something_. A job, a _chore. _It felt just like being back at home. Now how to find _**IT's **_it's name? While thinking through his current mission of naming the little blond fellow, Sasuke found himself to be staring down at what had once been a _beautiful_-looking brea--... Lunch... Dinner? Scratching his jet-black hair, he swirled the Kamaboko[1] slices around, the ones with the pink spirals - Narutos, as people called them. The young Uchiha disliked them, didn't know why they came along with the packet, _integrated _into the bloody food, _impossible _to pick them out until you added the boiling water - which by then would have had it's taste spread out to the noodle. At least, that's what he figured 'Narutos' to do.

Stupid Naruto.

While Sasuke picked out each and every Naruto from his meal, placing them on a napkin to put in the fridge for some other poor fellow to eat [preferably Ara--… _Minato_], his little so-called '_trusty-personal-assistant ' _had wandered to the balcony, using glass doors to exit and enter said balcony. On feeling the cool breeze waft through his blonde locks, on seeing the pretty little diamonds suspended in the air more clearly, the blonde haired boy decided to return back to the apartment, back to his master, who seemed to be pondering whether to eat whatever it was that he was eating. '_Food… I wonder what he likes to eat…' _Speaking of which, he still didn't know what his master wanted from him - but seeing how it seemed that a lot had happened today, he would have to ask later, after his apparent master had some mental rest. He'd ask about that, _then _about the diamonds.

'_I wish Arashi and Uzu-san were my master…'_

Returning back to his previous thought, the blonde haired A.I. made his way to the kitchen, making sure to take note of the surroundings, of the house. Unless his master planned on moving soon, Epsilon [although he referred to himself as 'me'] would have to remember the house, as to not get lost, because he too had heard what Itachi had said, repeating it to himself as if it were a life saving mantra. _'I have to act like a proper person. No more messing around or asking questions'_. On reaching the kitchen, he poked his head around an imaginary wall, still finding it slightly awkward to talk to someone he'd never talked to before, or to be more technical, someone he'd _talked _too ["Are you my master?"] but hadn't _been _talked too. In fact, _this _would be the first time he would be in a conversation with someone _other _then Minato and his wife, Uzumaki-san. But that did little to deter the blond-haired-blue-eyed youngster, only fuelling some unknown will and righteous _need _to get it over with - it being the awkward stages of first meeting someone new. Oh yes, better to get it over with then to drag it out due to nervousness, it was in his Psychology 101 pack, among his _mental hard-drive_ folder.

"Umm… Uchiha-san…" He got a non-descriptive '_Hnn_' in reply. "I'm going to go check out the rest of the house, 'k?"

Sasuke waved him off, still seated on his kitchen stool, seemingly staring at the now Naruto-free ramen as if it were a good reading book. Taking it as an accepted permission, the young blonde male began his journey by heading past the kitchen, across a small hallway and into the first door he saw, which turned out to be a toilet. It stank. Like hell. _'More like shit'_ a voice said in his head, oddly sounding like the deep voice of a fox, though the boy knew that they didn't speak _any _human language, plus he was clever enough to tell that it was his unconsciousness that was talking. It didn't matter what it sounded like anyway, to be honest, it spoke the truth, and on shutting the door quiet forcefully, Epsilon ventured to the next door, turning the door knob only to find that it was locked. He tried again, not fully understanding _why _someone would lock a room in their home, and on the third try almost gave up. Almost. _'One more time, hard as I can' _he was going to give it his best shot, and that meant using whatever muscles he had in his body to give it one _big _push. Or whatever _wires _were there. Despite the knowledge packs he'd been updated with not so long ago, he still didn't really understand about the chemistry of his own body. But it didn't really matter, the less he knew the better. With one mighty push, the door creaked open, only a bit, forcing Epsilon to keep on pushing, only to realise that the door _hadn't _been locked but _blocked_. With… Things… That he couldn't yet tell.

Feeling utterly curious as to what the room was to have something _blocking _it, the blue eyed teenager pushed harder, his feet almost dragging on the carpet, feeling glad that he wasn't wearing his shoes. The object that was blocking the door moved painfully slow, but nevertheless moved and in no time at all the A.I. found he door to be open _just _enough for him to squeeze through comfortably. Of which he did.

'…' He was left speechless, if not blank minded. The room was a complete mess, clothes thrown everywhere, messily made bed, and a stench of… Of… Dead mice…? Thankfully, in none of the knowledge the blue eyed held in his system included how a dead mice smelled, so he couldn't be too sure on that. Still…The room had to have been _perfect _before Sasuke had come, in fact, he could see that the walls were a dark maroon, matching, large, mahogany cupboard and desk that were also dark in colour, and soft, silky curtains that were almost indigo, if not purple. The bed looked as if it had matching sheets too, and under mountains of clothes he was sure he saw a couple of pillows. Fat, lush, comfortable pillows… He wanted to see it. The whole room. In it's full and utter glory, stripped away from the rubbish and useless clutter and made _perfect_. And who else to do it but him? After all, he _was _an Artificial Intelligence built and created [one could say _born_ in fact] to aid others from simple chores to complex divisions. So he would clean up this room and the _rest _of the apartment for his master, for Sasuke, the younger of the Ivory brothers. It felt like a really good idea, and smiling widely with a twinkle in his blue eyes, he began by picking up what had been blocking the door.

It was… A giant cardboard box full of CD's and stuff. _'Eeeeh, so he likes music?'_ Interesting thought, and hugely helpful, since Epsilon had been finding Sasuke to be slightly… Unnerving, if not intimidating, but it had all been for nothing since in the end, even Sasuke was just human, it was Epsilon who _wasn't_. The thought made the blond boy's mood drop slightly, to know that he had only been _created _by humans to _seem _like them, but he could _never _be _like _them._ 'Don't kid yourself, kid,' _his subconscious said, the deep voice resonating from ear to ear, _'Your better.'_ The last phrase went unheard by 'Blondie', whose eyes were suddenly caught and held by a strange glint that had erupted seemingly from the corner of his sight, a round silver object coming into focus. Problem was, it was right at the other side of the bedroom, a distance in which a bed and mountains of discarded items lay between. Unfortunately, he happened to be _oh-so-curious _as to _what _it could be. But at least now he had _something _to look forward too other then the clean room.

So he got to work, putting the box of CD's outside the room, deciding to first _make room _in the bedroom to put stuff _in_. Next was picking up large heaps of clothes that happened to have _also _blocked the door, deciding to not in dignify himself by seeing whether they were dirty or not - it was easier to simply throw them outside the room too. Now the door was free to move back and forth, but it creaked slightly every time and the handle seemed stiff; _'I'll grease it after I've finished'_ Next was the other shitloads of crap that had to be dealt with. The small amount of work out he'd just done had allowed him to see that there was a _beautiful _dark brown carpet, thin as in your feet didn't sink into it, but plump enough to be warm in winter. It looked dirty though, as if it hadn't been hovered in ages, in fact, little A.I. couldn't tell whether it was dust that had aligned accordingly on the carpet in an elaborate design or whether it had was actually _part _of the carpet. Epsilon will take care of it. _'I'll take care of it.'_

Epsilon found it to be rather fun, to constantly find something interesting inside the bedroom, something new about his master that he didn't know. To be honest, he didn't believe most of the items belonged to him, or had _anything _to do with Sasuke, since some of them couldn't _possibly _be his… Thing. Amongst the items he'd found were an empty sketchbook, a laptop [it was buried underneath blankets], some empty Instant Noodles, papers that held the giant letters ASSIGNMENT, a blackberry, two iPods, forms, a credit card and so on. Amongst the things he'd learnt about Sasuke were that he had aspired to be an artist but never started, possibly did his work electronically on the laptop, maybe was a bit too busy to have to eat in bed, had a lot of work to do, liked to keep in touch _all the time_, liked music and was pretty late with his legal standings [maybe also a bit of a ditz to lose his card]. He'd also learnt that he was most probably wrong about many of his predictions of Sasuke, due to the fact that any of these things could belong to _another _and not his _master_. Emphasis on the master, since it did still sound strange.

Nevertheless, it didn't take long for the enthused teen to finish the room, since most of the mess had basically been clothes, blankets and other materials. The carpet _was _in fact, pretty dusty, but now Epsilon was able to see that it _had _been actual designs he'd seen on the carpet, round, circle like designs, like how aliens in the movies did on farm crop fields, that really looked pretty. Against the dark brown of the carpet, the designs were a lighter shade, seemed to be even _more _silkier then the rest of the piece, circling here and there. The bed had been made, with it's silky maroon sheets, grey contrast on the inside of the maroon sheets. And let's not forget the pillows, oohoo, Epsilon _loved _the pillows. They _were _fat, they _were _lush, everything he'd thought them to be, and they _were _plenty. In total, there was about six pillows, one _really _long one, two large sized _normal _pillows, two medium sized _normal _pillows and one small one smack down in the middle. They were of different shades of red, to match with the bed and the room, and it was only then that Epsilon thought that Sasuke _might _like the colour red. Maybe that was his favourite colour? But now _he _liked red too, since it looked _awesome _in the room, with the whole colour coordination and that 'colour scheme' thing, it really worked out, but Epsilon would have preferred a more… Lighter version, since this particular room was too dark for his tastes, although he wouldn't mind sleeping here any day. The floor had been cleared, clothes had been put away in the large cupboard, desk now viewable with the laptop, sketchbook, assignment papers and forms lying safely on top. He'd found the interesting object before that had glinted to him to be a CD Player, nothing too interesting, but he placed it onto the desk just in case. He'd placed both iPods, blackberry and the credit card on the bed, right in the middle of it so that it wouldn't be missed when Sasuke came into his room. How he had even been able to enter the room was a miracle in itself, what with how the CD box had been blocking the door along with the first pile of clothes.

Remembering the box and the pile of clothes, Epsilon took one last look at the room, nodded his head in approval and walked his way outside back into the hallway, spotting the two immediately. His trained eye [for cleaning the room had trained him] assessed the clothes and figured them to be clean, so he folded them and placed them in their right place in the cupboard, putting the box of CD's underneath the desk, in easy view. Now Epsilon was _really _pleased with what he did, his first work had been a complete success, and it had only taken him a couple of minutes. He didn't feel tired at all, his breathing was normal, although he'd rolled up the bottom of his black trousers and taken of his socks. If he had worn a long sleeved shirt, he would have rolled up the sleeves too, but his orange shirt was a t-shirt, one with a black swirl placed in the middle of it. The mirror in the room showed that his hair was messy, but come on, it was always messy, so he didn't give it much thought. Didn't matter anyway, this was only the first room he'd come across - toilet not counted.

Back into the hallway, which was surprisingly _clean_ save for being completely _empty_. Not even a pleasant picture on the walls for someone to look at while they walked to their room. Oh well, it didn't matter, because Epsilon was now standing in front of the third door, the third room. In total, there were four doors in the hallway, the last one at the far end. Epsilon inhaled deeply, his fingers itching to open the door, of which he did only moments later.

It was another bedroom. And it was _clean_. The door opened cleanly, reminding him that he had to do something about Sasuke's own door, there was an open window letting in a cool night breeze that made the room smell fresh through these light gold curtains that had been drawn apart. A bed lay in the corner, a comfortable looking, albeit slightly big bed with _already made _orange and red sheets. No wait, orange, red and yellow sheets, like in all different shades of the summer. _'There's even green in it'_. The walls were the lightest blue he'd ever seen, like the sky, or the light part of the sea [whatever it was called], or even the colour of a baby's clothes, that sort of blue, and there were wisps across the blue walls that were in completely different shades of different colours as if you were floating along with it - as if the walls had been infused with these coils of energy. The carpet was light green, only slightly lighter then grass, same material as the carpet that had been in Sasuke's room, also with the crop field circle designs. The room was just… Beautiful, and it took a minute for Epsilon's brain to kick in gear and ask; _'Why is this room so clean?'_ In which his subconscious answered; _'Probably because your 'master' hasn't been in this room' _which brought a chuckle forth from the A.I.

"This room is mine." He decided, hands on his hip, a wide grin plastered onto his face. And he knew it was true, because obviously he had to have his own bedroom if it was available, right? It wasn't as if he was going to _sleep _with Sasuke in his bedroom [this second bedroom was _so freaking _better then the master's bedroom] when there was a second bedroom available, right? It made sense, and so this room was his. This room… Was _his_. He finally had something he could call his own.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was having a little 'mental' dilemma. His mind had been doing spins and turns from the moment he'd sat down to eat, jumping from one problem to another, from one meaning to another, from one _word _to another - just like a rollercoaster. There was what Itachi had said, what Arashi, no, not Arashi, _Minato _had said, had _done_. He'd made a beep-beep sound for [insertnamehere]'s sake, a beep-beep sound that had _controlled _that… That… _Artificial Intelligence_, that _**IT**_, something that _wasn't _human but couldn't _possibly _be robot. He had soft skin, blond hair, fingers and feet, arms and legs, he had a nose, a mouth, two _blue _eyes and eyebrows, no less - everything Sasuke had, _everything_. How was _that _supposed to _not _be like _him_, it was _mind-boggling_. Just as mind-boggling as to who on Earth actually liked _Naruto's_. Which he'd safely extracted out of his meal. Sasuke would have to keep an _extremely _close eye on Blondie, making sure he didn't do anything stupid or naïve, making sure that _nobody _suspected him of being anything _but _Sasuke's roommate.

"Oh god, that means he's coming to Uni…" Which was true, part of the agreement had been that the damn _'Epsilon'_ would attend the same university as Sasuke, even in the same _classes _as Sasuke, although he wasn't too sure on that detail. In fact, knowing Itachi, all the paperwork and documents had probably already been taken care off, permitted to history, which reminded Sasuke that he had yet to complete the forms. _'Might as well take care of them now…'_ he thought, taking another bite out of his ramen before standing up to get the 'profit redirection' forms from a box that stood next to the television. He fished them out, pushing aside books of Psychology and Anatomy, returning to his kitchen stool as soon as he had found them. The black biro in the pockets of his black denim jeans still worked, though he decided to use the pencil in his black t-shirt breast pocket first, in case he did anything wrong [which he didn't. Being a Uchiha gave you the right to be _always _right]. First was the small prints, pages upon pages of tiny sized letters that formed pretty long and complex words that formed longer and more complex paragraphs. The contract statements continued for three pages straight, made of six paragraphs _entirely_. Yeah, you could imagine how big those paragraphs were. Fourth page held the actual details, details that Sasuke was to fill in with -his name, date of birth, bank account number and normalities along those lines- while the last and final page [fifth page, for those who don't keep track] was the declaration that Sasuke had read and understood the terms and that he would abide by them as long as the contract was respected, plus a small space at the end that told him to sign it if he _did _indeed read and understand the whole damn thing. Which he _did_ [surprise, surprise,], deciding to do things the _Uchiha-way _rather then cut corner this time and simply sign. Besides, Itachi had a knack to surprise him with these things, for all Sasuke knew, he could be signing a contract that forced him to _take over _the bloody company rather then just get the rewards if Itachi died. Couldn't have that, could we?

The youngest of the Uchiha pairs was skimming through the third page of the small prints, making sure that he hadn't missed any piece of concealed text, when the blonde-haired boy of his worry entered the kitchen, a bounce in his steps that seemed to _scream _that he was happy. Sasuke looked up slightly, just to be able to watch from his own position, a slender eyebrow raised curiously as to what could have made the blue eyed happy. Said teen merely swirled his way to the fridge, humming a pleasant tune under his breathe that he couldn't quiet remember where it had come from, opening the fridge to see what was inside. Sasuke knew that it was empty, save for two cartons of milk, some instant ramen and other random items he'd felt the need to get from the grocery store, but it was on seeing the A.I. that what Itachi had said really hit home. _"If news gets out of Epsilon being with you, you __**will **__be targeted, and he __**will **__be the target," _Who bloody wouldn't want an Artificial Intelligence at their home? It would do the cleaning, cooking, laundry, heck maybe even Sasuke's assignments from university - because that's what it was _supposed _to do, it was its _job_. Sasuke would have to make sure, make _absolutely, positively _sure that nobody _ever _suspected Epsilon of being anything _but _just another man.

Because lord knew, there were _other _less suitable things an A.I. could do, and there were _other _less suitable people who would _love _to get their hands on Epsilon.

Epsilon had closed the fridge, obviously not pleased with how empty it had been, turning around to walk out of the kitchen as if a man on a mission. He was passing Sasuke when he noticed the almost empty bowl Sasuke had been eating, remembering that he had wondered what his master liked to eat only to go wandering off around the rest of the house. The bowl was almost empty, but there were still some unfinished food in there, long strands of food, what looked like pasta or spaghetti. But on second thought, there shouldn't be any liquid with the pasta or spaghetti, plus it looked more like the instant ramen he'd seen in the fridge then home cooked food. Okay, so ramen was ramen, nothing interesting about _that_, but what really made Epsilon peer across Sasuke's shoulder was the white spiky things on a napkin _next _to the bowl.

Sasuke's eyebrows were still raised, but he kept silent as to see what it was that the A.I. was so curious about. On following his gaze, he saw that the object of curiosity was the damn Naruto's, slightly soggy from the liquid they had absorbed, but still white with the pink swirls inside. Strange, why would those abominations be interesting? He should have known though, the question that followed of "What are those?" almost made the younger Uchiha choke on the ramen he had been about to swallow. Now with _both _eyebrows raised, he looked at his blond roommate curiously, his expression one of someone trying to figure a puzzle out. "Hmmm… You really don't know…?"

"I only have the basic knowledge of an eighteen year old, the knowledge packs contain stuff that you learn in school, not a lot on things you learn at _home_. Especially not agricultural knowledge, which would include those _things_…" … What…? _'So he basically doesn't know…' _So sometimes he'd have to _simplify _whatever the heck the 'eighteen year old' said. Bah, Itachi had told Sasuke he'd have to teach him _some _things, cooking included, so what better way to teach someone then by telling them to taste it?

"Hnn," Sasuke said, seemingly agreeing with whatever Epsilon had stated. "Fine then, taste them." On hearing, the A.I. looked at Sasuke questioningly, only then realising that they were really close in proximity, the closest he'd been with the pale boy. His eyes were _really _obsidian, and his hair was _really _black, like the darkest dark there was of black. Sasuke's face looked as if it had been _completely _carved out of marble, out of ivory, whichever one was more incredible, his features were perfect; straight nose, thin [but not _too _thin] lips and an almost feminine jaw curve - though he somehow _knew _the Uchiha wouldn't like hearing the last comment. The blond broke out of his reverie, looking back at the whitish pink things, moving around to sit on the right of Sasuke on another stool, the Naruto's right in front of him now. He picked on up gingerly, fingering it around between his index and thumb, his blue-- no cerulean eyes wide with interest. Those eyes were _definitely _cerulean, just as Sasuke had thought. The black haired teenager watched as his blond counterpart popped one of those _disgusting _Naruto's into his mouth, his face remaining the same expression of curiosity, his jaw working slowly, back and forth, back and forth, until his eyes widened considerably and he swallowed, his head turning slowly to face Sasuke, who found his own eyes widening in response.

"What… Is this…?" The boy asked, eyes still wide, sprinkles of reflection from the kitchen light dancing elegantly across the blue iris. Sasuke continued to stare into the eyes, watching for when the next sparkle took place in those wide oceans of the A.I.'s eyes, wandering whether a picture would be able to capture the true essence of them. He, too, broke out of his reverie only moments later, looking down at the Naruto's and back again at his blond fellow.

He pointed to the offending [in his eyes] vegetables, one, lone, index finger that was skinny and bony [in his eyes] and incredibly pale, five slices remaining. "Those… Are called Naruto's." And immediately as he said it, Epsilon's face became a beam of happiness, his eyes still wide but now accompanied by flashing white teethes shown due to the incredibly large smile. "I guess you like them."

"Oh hell yes!" A.I.'s knew bad language? Interesting, that'd help make him more _normal _for when the pair where in _public_. Speaking of which…

"… You need a proper name…" Epsilon's smile was almost contagious, just like Minato's, but of course it didn't affect Sasuke in any way. For a split second, the smile faltered, the blue iris faded, the A.I.'s expression became blank, but almost instantly lodged back into place. For a split second, if any high ranking member of the Artificial Intelligence Research Lab had been there at that particular moment, they would have _definitely _sensed that _something _was amidst, but of course, Sasuke would never realise, _didn't _realise, didn't even notice since and he didn't have the profession or _skills _to notice, and years later, if anyone dared to blame him, he would have denied it to the last breath in his body.

Cerulean eyes widened even further, if that was possible, his smile turning from one of discovery to one of an idea. "Since we need a name, and I can't be called Epsilon or Epp-chan like Arashi-san calls me, then… How about Naruto?" It was the perfect idea, made absolute sense. People were named names that held meaning, right? That had _something _to do with the person, right? So Epsilon should be called something he _liked_, something that was memorable, even had _meaning_, because the meaning behind the Naruto's were that they were the first thing he had tasted ever since being… Well, turned '_on'._ It was the perfect idea ever.--

--It was the _dumbest _idea ever. Naruto? That wasn't a _name_, a _name _was supposed to be something like Hugo, Daniel, Charlotte even. Heck, Sasuke would rather call Epsilon _Yuki _then _Naruto_. "Are you crazy, dobe?" He was expecting an answer, it wasn't a rhetorical question, but almost immediately after asking whether his personal assistant was crazy or not, he said one word that drove all of the joy straight out of Blondie's face.

"No."

"Oh come oooon, pleeeaseee? These are the first things I've _ever _tasted, there _really _tasty, _really _awesome, and _I _wanna be called _Naruto!_" The voice was whiny, annoying, desperate even. Sasuke shook his head strongly, getting up as if to finalise his decision. Epsilon, on the other hand, didn't like how things were turning out, and after it became apparent that _begging _wasn't going to work, the fact that this was _his _name they were arguing over became apparent. And he didn't like being called a dobe. "Well guess what?"

Sasuke, who had almost left the kitchen, stopped to turn around with an elegant raised eyebrow. "…What?"

The subconscious side of his brain kicked in, whispering _'Now to establish some ground rules,'_ that put a smug smirk on Epsilon's face. "This is _my _name, and I'll call myself whatever the damn thing I want to call myself."

Sasuke was mentally gaping, but of course he kept his demeanour about himself like usual on the outside. _'He can't seriously want to call himself after a freakin' vegetable!' _he thought, his brain running through desperate means of trying to come up with a solution. _'He can't be serious!'_ But ooh no, the smug look and crossed arms showed that the A.I. was pretty damn serious, making Sasuke place a palm onto his forehead and sigh loudly to calm his nerves, leaning on the kitchen walls hazardously.

"Hnn… Fine, whatever. It's not that the worst name you could have."

He exhaled deeply, breathing in again to give his lungs the air it wanted. Epsilon's mood switched automatically back to the wide eyed wide grin [the W.E.W.G. for short, or Wewg, interesting abbreviation] that would have made any normal person feel as if they'd made the right decision. The Uchiha was scowling though, knowing full well that he would get a lecture, if not two, from more then just Itachi, of the name the A.I. had taken as his own. As long as it worked, it'd be fine, because although Naruto wasn't really a name, it was mightily better then the other names the Uchiha had come across. He felt tired, worn out, as if all the adrenaline that had been pumping around his body for the last five hours had disappeared. A glance to the clock signalled that it had just passed 1 am, a time in where he should have been fast asleep getting ready for the university day that was to start in only a couple of hours. Remembering again that 'Naruto' was to come with him, he exhaled deeply again, breathing in once more to refill his lungs. He saw 'Naruto' [he'll never get used to that] look at the clock, a small surprise registering onto his face at how fast time had gone by.

"Don't you have to go to school tomorrow, Sasuke?" At least he was going to be the only one having trouble calling the other, 'Naruto' seemed perfectly content addressing the Uchiha directly, with no suffix whatsoever. Good enough, although it'd bring many questions about if the A.I. called him that in class. Or public.

"We _both _have school tomorrow." He muttered, answering in reply, bringing yet another smile to splash itself across the blonde's tanned face. The newly named A.I. stuffed the remaining five Naruto's into his mouth, humming in happiness as the sweet taste hit his tongue, almost making Sasuke slightly cringe [though blue-eyes didn't notice]. He swallowed loudly, washing it down with a half a cup of water that Sasuke had been drinking [_also almost _making Sasuke slightly cringe], dumping both the cup and bowl into the sink for tomorrow.

"Then we should go to sleep!" His voice sounded light, musical, indicating that he was indeed happy at the prospect of a new day tomorrow, which would technically be a new day _today_ due to the fact that it had already passed midnight. He'd noticed that the sink was full when he'd placed the bowl and cup in, so full that it looked overloaded, one dish dangerously balancing on the edge. Setting that particular dish on the table top next to the sink, _Naruto _[his new name, his new name!] made the mental note to clean them soon, _and _to do something about both Sasuke's door _and _carpet. Speaking of which, he really wanted to go back to his _epic _bedroom. And Sasuke really wanted to go back to his _quite _bedroom.

The two, with Sasuke in the front, left the kitchen, turning off the light as they headed into the hallway. Sasuke stopped at the second door, his bedroom, while Naruto moved on to the third, _his _bedroom. Sasuke, feeling awkward, wandered whether he was supposed to say "good night" or anything of the sort, having never said anything to _anyone _including family. With hand on the door knob, he turned to Naruto opening his mouth only to see that the blonde had already beat him to it. "See you in a couple of hours, Sasuke~!" Oh well, he nodded in agreement, watching the bright teen enter his room and close the door after him, turning his _own _knob to his _own _messy bedroom only to see that it… Wasn't… Dirty… At all…

'_Did he do this…?'_ He walked in, closed the door behind him, only barely making note of the creak the door made. The room looked huge, his _bed _looked _huge,_ and since when did he have a desk? Walking slowly, socked feet's making no noise on the _visible _carpet [no more trekking around piles of clothes], he reached the desk to see a CD Player, his laptop [which he thought he'd left back at the Uchiha House], some random sketchbook as well as his assignment papers he'd wanted to give in early but couldn't find and the some forms from the company to do with him agreeing to be the human of the third and final trial of the Artificial Intelligence Research. On his bed were his iPods, both of them, the first one was black, had it since he was twelve, thought he'd lost it on the first day he moved into the apartment. The second was an orange one, bought in retaliation for having lost the first one. It was orange because he'd forgotten to specify which colour he wanted when he'd ordered it online - or so the shop says - even though he was sure, and remembered, that he had specifically asked for a black one. Next to the iPods was his blackberry, black in colour [the irony~], he usually used it when he went on offshore travels because Itachi always wanted to have contact with him, plus whenever he was bored he could log on into the internet. But what _really _made his day was that next to his iPods and blackberry was his _credit card_. Oh god, it was his _credit card, _one he'd been _sure _he'd lost. He had even taken the drastic measure of calling the bank and having them nullify it.

Oh well, it was his fault for losing it.

Now Sasuke found himself on his bed, in between the sheets, covered by pillows he never knew he had. The bed slinked under his weight, as if he were lying on top of dark red clouds, the pillows absolutely what his head needed. It didn't take long for the brother of Itachi named Sasuke to go to sleep, but right before he could black-out a stray thought came floating to the top of his mind;

_Do A.I.'s sleep?_

**Next Time:** Out of all the girls Naruto had first seen, the dark blue haired girl [who looked really shy] and the brunette [who was busy talking to the clear eyed guy] didn't seem too occupied with Sasuke, but the other girls were practically _staring_, even more, they seemed to be _drooling_ at maximised obsession for the obsidian-eyed Uchiha. But what scared the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy even further was the constant, watchful eye of the silver-haired teacher who stood behind his desk facing the class.

Because, by _god_, _none _of the knowledge packs Naruto had _included _anything on how to deal with gay superiors.

* * *

D:

Kamaboko[1] is a variety of Japanese processed seafood product, basically the main thing where the little naruto's come in ramens. The spiky thing with the pink swirl, the one you see in the anime! D:

Other then that, nothing else to say. Other then I hate sand. But I wuv reviews. And I really liked this chapter. 3

Look forward to chapter 5! And to all the reviewers, thank you so much! z-Maddness-z; ooh, I knew what 'Ai' meant but didn't realise. Touche~ 3 MusetteVigeeLebrun; I couldn't very well call him anything _but _Naruto, could I? X'D AND THANK YOU EVERYONE ELSE! 3

[[~young]]

It felt just like being back at home. Now how to find _**IT's **_it's name? While thinking through his current mission of naming the little blond fellow, Sasuke found himself to be staring down at what had once been a _beautiful_-looking brea--... Lunch... Dinner? Scratching his jet-black hair, he swirled the Kamaboko slices around, the ones with the pink spirals - Narutos, as people called them. The young Uchiha disliked them, didn't know why they came along with the packet, _integrated _into the bloody food, _impossible _to pick them out until you added the boiling water - which by then would have had it's taste spread out to the noodle. At least, thats what he figured 'Narutos' to do.

Stupid Naruto.


	5. Hot chocolate, anyone?

**Last Time;; **Now Sasuke found himself on his bed, in between the sheets, covered by pillows he never knew he had. The bed slinked under his weight, as if he were lying on top of dark red clouds, the pillows absolutely what his head needed. It didn't take long for the brother of Itachi named Sasuke to go to sleep, but right before he could black-out a stray thought came floating to the top of his mind;

_Do A.I.'s sleep?

* * *

_

**Instalment 5ive;;**

_**Hot Chocolate, anyone?**_

His curtains had still been open, and because of them, the sunlight had crept through more and more and woken up the blonde haired teenager who had been sleeping soundly only moments ago. First to wake up was his brain, and only moments later his eyes struggled open only to find themselves closing suddenly again due to the intensity of the light from the window. He turned around to face the opposite way, opening his eyes slowly to see the blue wall and the white door, the green carpet towards the bottom of his view. On simply seeing the blue and green of his room made a small smile play on his lip, making him bounce out of his bed fully energized and absolutely awake. He spun around to get a full look of _his _bedroom, smiling much more wider at the open window and the morning light that flooded the room. Moving to the large cupboard in his room, he swung the doors open, looking at the clothes he had folded and hung around inside, _his _clothes, brought here by the older Uchiha brother a day before he was scheduled to arrive. Of course, it had been _Naruto _[oh yes, it felt good to know that that was _his _name] who had unpacked and put them in their proper places, and as of such decided to remove black cargo pants and a dark orange shirt from the lot, along with clean boxers and a pair of socks. He fished around in one of the drawers that were located at the bottom of the cupboard, eight drawers in rows of four, just two columns. Naruto let a small "Yosh!" of achievement out on locating an orange toothbrush [told you his favourite colour was orange], toothpaste and a small orange comb.

This day was going to go _perfect_. Nothing could go wrong. _'Nothing WILL go wrong~'_ He would do everything in his power and knowledge to make things run as smoothly as possible, from socialising to paying attention in class to returning home and… And… Doing stuff. Thinking positively, he left the room, carefully closing the door, and made his way to the first door in the hallway - the toilet. Before he opened the door he remembered what he'd seen only yesterday, and decided to go to the kitchen instead - he'd pass up on _using _the actual toilet this time. Of course, in the kitchen there was a problem too; the dishes. There was no space to brush his teeth, so he set aside his items and began washing them, one by one, from dishes to cups and utensils. It didn't take long, and soon the sink was empty, allowing Naruto to brush his teeth, in which he proceeded to do. Once he'd finished that he returned to his room, carrying all of his items and scattering them across the bed. The toothbrush and toothpaste were put back in the drawer, now only comb and clothes remaining. Still thinking positively, he began to strip, taking off his pyjama-shirt first to reveal a tanned muscled chest, as if he worked out constantly [which he really didn't]. He looked down at his stomach, remembering that this would be the first time he'd be able to get a _full _look at himself, his right hand palming out to lie flat on his abdomen. The hand began tracing his stomach, feeling how flat it was, following the lines that faintly traced all of his abs to where his belly button was, poking it with his pinkie in childish amusement. Chuckling sheepishly to himself, he removed his pyjama-trousers, the material landing softly on the bed next to the matching blue baby-fox print pyjama-shirt, moving his attention to his legs. His legs were tanned too, seemingly as smooth as his chest and face, clear without any scars or blemishes, not a wire in sight. An annoyed hum sound left Naruto's lips as he realized that the boxers he wore were getting in the way of him _seeing _his legs properly, and he didn't want to sit down _or _bend. It didn't take long for Naruto to figure out a solution to the problem. Hooking both thumbs onto either side of his boxers, he was about to pull them right down and off when the door to his bedroom opened _right _up.

"SASUKE!"

_BAM! _… Why did Naruto close the door on him…? Why did Naruto close the door on his _face _and possibly break his _nose? _Feeling annoyed and highly disorientated, Sasuke used his right hand to knock on the door, three short rasps, while cupping his nose with his left. He could hear Naruto breathing heavily on the other side, still pressed up against the door that he had thrown himself against to stop Sasuke entering, a move in itself suspicious to the obsidian-eyed teen.

"Open the door, dobe." Honestly, Naruto was turning out to be more and more of a dobe, even if the blonde _obviously _hated it whenever Sasuke called him such a thing. What had Naruto been doing when Sasuke was coming in? The Uchiha wasn't really all too sure, but he could have _sworn _the boy had been wearing _nothing. _This couldn't be true, because he had only caught a glimpse, making the obsidian feel confident that he had seen _wrong_. For once, couldn't an Uchiha be wrong when it was _good _for them? "Fate was a cruel mistress," was a popular saying, and the weight of dread in his stomach told Sasuke that fate was _indeed _cruel, and that he had probably seen _right _rather then wrong. "Oi… What are you doing in there…?"

No reply.

But who actually expected Naruto to reply? He was pressed against the cool, white door he'd been admiring only minutes before. His heart beat was coming waytoo fast for his lungs to take in the amount of air it wanted, making him feel winded, if not completely panic-stricken. The feeling of adrenaline rushing his veins brought about the sad but happy truth that this was the _first _time he'd felt such feelings, bringing him back to the fact that he was still only wearing his boxers, though, and even _they _were low riding due to what Naruto had been about to do before Sasuke had 'interrupted' him. _'Uuuh, uuuh, uuugggghhh….' _He was panicking harder, trying to think of a suitable way to explain the situation. _'Oh screw it to hell!'_

"Y-You… Uuuh… You can't come in!" There was no way to tell the truth without it coming out wrong, no way to say _"I just wanted to see how all of my body looked without clothes" _without freaking out Sasuke even more then he probably was. So the only solution to the problem of not being able to tell the truth was to _lie_. Lie as if his life depended on it, which it could very well be. He heard the undignified snort that meant that Sasuke was losing his patience, making Naruto's brain go into overload trying to come up with a _reason _why Sasuke couldn't enter.

"I… I-I haven't completely cleaned up this place…! Yeah, that's it… It's messy!" Not too bad for an improvised lie, especially for a first time. At least, that's what Naruto had thought right before he felt Sasuke give a small push to the door, one that was surprisingly strong. The Uchiha wasn't taking shit. _'He's…! He's going to open the door by force and see me naked!" _Now things were in full force, the blonde haired boy pushing up against the door, a sweaty left hand keeping a strong hold on the handlebar that dangerously moved up and down. It was no use, Minato-san had told him before that he would be _considerably _weak in the first few days, up to ten days if not more, due to his system still placing things into context, from theory to practical. And right now, Sasuke was a _whole _lot stronger; one mighty push and Naruto would be sent sprawling across the room.

But while Naruto was getting worried over his master freaking out, said master was getting worried over his 'assistant' _going crazy_, something which seemed highly probable with the fact that the A.I. was refusing to open the door. Messy room huh? Please, he'd been in the second bedroom only yesterday morning to make sure it was presentable, he _knew _that the room was very much clean. "Open the door. Now." This was an order, his voice was controlled, firm and held all the warning signals that scared non-Uchiha's to kingdom come. In fact, speaking of which, this was _his _kingdom, and whenever he wanted to go into his subordinate's room, he would pretty darn well go into his subordinates room. Just to add more pressure onto his order, he pushed the door again, slightly nudging it with his shoulder. He could feel Naruto trying to push against it, but for some strange reason the teen wasn't using much of his strength. If Sasuke wanted too, he could completely push the door with merely one hand and not even break a sweat.

"What the hell are you _doing, _Naruto?" _'Damn it, was he trying to kill himself?' _, last thing the Uchiha needed was for the A.I. everyone had worked on to commit suicide. Naruto was stuttering on the other side of the door, trying to come up with _another _lie to feed to the Uchiha, making Sasuke feel even more insulted as if he could ever fall for such fakes. "Enough. I'm opening." And he was serious, counting down from ten mentally, the Uchiha slowly applied more and more pressure, feeling the helplessness of Epsilon against the other side, the young male being pushed more and more by Sasuke. A bit further and he could see the carpet, a carpet he could know say was similar to his own in his bedroom save for the colour, but still no sign of Naruto letting up the struggle. _'…' _Uchiha Sasuke had never been known to be a patient man, he lost his temper very quickly, and knew purely that the reason why Epsilon had been programmed in such a way to struggle whenever another came into his room was most probably due to the idiocy of his elder brother and said elder brother's friend. The mere thought of the other two _amused _at his predicament made the university student's anger almost fall over the edge, igniting a sudden push against the door that Sasuke really didn't expect to work.

But it had.

What it had done precisely was throw Naruto across the room to land sprawled onto his own bed, bouncing slightly at the impact his body made on the mattress and sheets. The door freely swung open, not a noise at all, allowing both the young males to stare at each other in wide, recognizable _shock_.

The first thought that had run through Sasuke's mind had come right when he'd laid eyes on Naruto, who had turned around so that his back was on the bed, facing upwards towards Sasuke; _'NAKED!' _only to almost instantly realize that Naruto wasn't _completely _naked, just... Mostly naked, save for black boxers. It didn't matter, knowing that Naruto was wearing boxers didn't erase the fact that he _still _didn't have any _other _clothes, or the fact that _that _wasn't what irked the obsidian teenager. What irked the Uchiha the most was… Was… The _position _Naruto was in, sprawled out on his back, his legs facing the direction of the door where Sasuke was at. The two legs were bent on the bed, wide apart, showing perfectly well that Epsilon was wearing boxers… Oh yeah, he was wearing boxers alright. So the guys at the research lab liked to create nice asses. A very worrying thought indeed.

Naruto, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, eyes wide, completely shocked at how he'd just flown across the room onto his bed. He propped his elbows underneath him, letting his legs move to lie on the bed, the abs he'd been touching only moments ago flexing slightly underneath his skin as he stared at Sasuke, who was staring at _him. _The blue eyed had no idea as to why Sasuke would possibly want to stare at him, the obsidian eyes trailing from his boxers to his stomach to his chest, and lingering back to his stomach again. What Naruto _did _know was why _he _wanted to stare at _Sasuke_. This was because the elder boy had on the _tightest _shirt he had _ever _seen or _heard _off, tight black tank top that strangely had a short turtleneck, these fluffy Aladdin-pants that were more Chinese then Arabian, white in colour. Sasuke's hair was messy, handsomely so [Naruto had to use the word handsome, nothing else described it], framing the Uchiha's pale face as if it _intended _to look as it did. What was the best was Sasuke's face, because while said teen seemed to be transfixed on Naruto's _stomach_, the blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy was transfixed on the black-hair's _face_; which currently inhibited a blank, wide eyed stare that could neither be read for as shock _or _expressionless. The nose, the jaw, the lips, the _eyes_, the eyebrows…

"Uni…"

'_Huh?' _Thank the heavens, Sasuke had broken it. And rightfully so, because that small amount of _goggling _had made Naruto blush beet red and look away like a shy high school'r, since that was how he was apparently acting, or so his subconscious had told him. Sasuke, on the other hand, simply restated that they had to get ready for university, saying that he was going to go back to his room to change, his face still blank as he turned around to leave.

"And _put some clothes on…" _Had been his last words before he'd closed the door, leaving the still red Naruto to instantly scramble for his cargo pants and shirt, changing his boxers and immediately putting his clothes on. He left his room, heading for the kitchen, and looked around the kitchen for anything he could eat other then Ramen or Noodles. On finding a packet of Frosties [sugar-coated corn flakes that held the logo of a tiger screaming "Gggrrrrreeat!"], he poured a fair amount, adding some milk from the fridge in and sticking a spoon into it. He placed the bowl of breakfast onto the kitchen table, the two stools from yesterday still in their same place, pouring a generous amount of orange juice he had been lucky to find in the fridge.

Sasuke decided to stumble in at that moment, not particularly stumbling but more like strolling in, perfectly in control of his feet. He saw the bowl on the table, figured it was Naruto making himself breakfast, but then did a retake when he saw the blonde placing _another _bowl of Frosties right next to the previous one, with a glass of milk rather then orange juice. Naruto was grinning widely, having noticed Sasuke raise a delicate eyebrow [the A.I. had noticed that Sasuke's eyebrows were both elegant _and _delicate] in question. "Yup, our breakfast! I'll be able to make _proper _food after learning it first, you know, from you."

And with that, Sasuke sat down on his seat and ate, choosing to switch the orange juice for the milk, a cry of "Heeey, no fair!" childishly coming from Naruto as a joke. The prospect of having to teach Naruto how to do something _he _didn't know was daunting, but he was curious to see how things went. _'This is nice…'_ Sasuke thought, swallowing the most recent of mouthfuls, _'His abs were ni--' _he almost suddenly choked, coughing loudly as to clear his airways, Naruto patting lightly on his back not exactly sure what to do.

"Are you alright, Sasuke?" The blond asked nervously, seeing that Sasuke wasn't coughing as strongly as he had been, indicating that he was calming down. The teen waved him off, finishing off his glass of milk in one gulp as to further put an end to the _very _embarrassing choking episode. He put his cup down, finished off his food in a rush and stood up, taking both pieces to the sink where he subconsciously placed them both in there.

"I'm fine, but we're going to be late if we don't leave."

Naruto frowned, watching Sasuke leave the kitchen in the direction of the living room, unhappy with the fact that he had just left the dishes in there as if someone else would clean it for him. _'I know I'm his A.I. but that doesn't mean I'm going to clean up after him.' _he thought angrily, finishing off his own food and drink, dumping _them _into the sink too. Feeling good about his decision he followed the older teen into the living room, seeing that Sasuke had put on a black coat over his tank top and with a full, shoulder-strapped messenger bag. After almost choking on the Frosties, it seemed that Sasuke's face had become as blank as it had been when he'd left Naruto's bedroom, the elder teen almost seemingly avoiding to look at Naruto's face. The A.I. couldn't understand _why _it was like this, or whether his assumption was actually right or wrong, since everything had seemed alright while they had been eating _before _the choking.

But he kept quiet about it, still feeling awkward about what had happened in the bedroom, picking up a black denim jacket that had an orange spiral on the back -a present from Arashi- and a blue messenger bag that was _equally _as full as Sasuke's. Inside the bags were stationeries, from pencils to rulers, along with all the books the two Medical students would need; Anatomy, Histology, Physiology, etc. etc.

With everything packed and ready, the two made their way across the apartment to the door, both putting on shoes simultaneously and heading out, Naruto holding the door out for Sasuke, the other nodding his head in gratitude - still not making eye contact. They rode the elevator in silence, about five inches of space in between them, as if afraid to touch. When the doors finally _PING!'_ed open, they exited the building, a sleek looking AUDI parked in the driveway, along with other cars that belonged to other residents. Sasuke strolled over to his AUDI, fishing a key from his coat pocket and pressing it to the sound of _BEEP! _that made the cars headlights turn on and off, indicating that it had opened. Naruto, on the other hand, was staring to his right, down the street the car and _anybody _who was heading to the university would take, staring meaningfully until Sasuke's voice made him turn back to the car.

"Get in."

Gee, not much of a morning person, was he? Naruto frowned slightly, looking at the car and the street. Sasuke stared at Naruto, well, not _at _Naruto but more in his direction, his brain _refusing _to remember _both _incidents this morning. He waited for Naruto to hurry up and get in the car, only to see Naruto stubbornly crossing his arms in retribution, as if he _didn't _want to get in.

"I'm going to walk!" _'Is he crazy?'_ Walk? It would take about ten minutes to walk from here to the university, and while Sasuke had said that they would be late if they didn't hurry up, a good half an hour was left before the university gates even _opened_. That still didn't mean they would _walk_, or that Sasuke would let _Naruto _walk - the thought was too absurd. Obviously seeing the pure refusal sketched onto Sasuke's face, Naruto's mouth opened again, his voice whiny like it had been when he'd been trying to beg for his name. "I know the route, it's already in my system and everything, but I need to put the theory to practice, make it _literal_, otherwise any other time I might get lost." Sounded a whole lot better then just _wanting _to walk, and now the pure refusal had turned to slight doubt, not entirely sure it would be a wise decision to let the A.I. walk off on his own.

It was when Sasuke was about to deny Naruto's request that his blackberry rang, the ring tone simply being on vibration. The caller ID flashed that it was Itachi who was ringing, allowing Sasuke to simply pick up. The two brothers skipped the greetings [as they always did] and went straight to 'how things were'. After assuring Itachi that everything was running smoothly between himself and the A.I. [Naruto was watching carefully, motioning Sasuke to ask Itachi if he could walk], Sasuke did Naruto a favour. "Epsilon wants to walk it to Uni."

'_Yosh!'_ success! Naruto had been worried his dramatic hand signs would be too much for Sasuke to understand, but it seems his worry had been for nothing. He continued to try and lip read what Itachi was saying to Sasuke, hearing Sasuke agree over and over again with non-responsive "Hnn's…" that Itachi seemed to ignore. After a minute or so, Sasuke's eyes widened by a fraction, something Naruto learnt to mean that he had just been surprised, the black-haired man almost dropping his phone in a rush to turn it off. On pressing the 'end call' button, Sasuke looked up and finally made eye contact with Naruto, the surprise of it locking both pair of eyes in a blinking contest, though it was anything but a contest. Sasuke was the first to break out of it [because by all means, Naruto had come to enjoy these moments], clearing his throat and opening the drivers door.

"Itachi says you can walk, and that we should pretend to not know each other in school." With nothing further, he sat on his seat, slammed the door, turned the engine off and began driving in the direction of the university, leaving a very puzzled Naruto to walk.

'_Pretend not to know each other?'_

***

On the journey from Sasuke's apartment to the university, one had to pass a certain elementary school that was famous for its effective teachers. The school building was wide, with two equally large playgrounds and a closed of swimming pool. On the main street that Naruto had to walk on, the gates to the schools were open, despite the fact that it was a tad bit too early for students to start arriving. Unfortunately, he didn't exactly have a clock on him, nor did his system have any time keeping device whatsoever, in that fact one could say that he was just like a human, but then again, even humans had biological clocks that told their body when it was time to do things, like eat and sleep.

Like how one of the teachers right now was chewing on a delighting red apple. This particular teacher had brown hair, held up in a single ponytail, as feminine as that sounded, a strange scar smearing his face right across his nose. Iruka had just finished setting up his classroom for the day, making sure that all the mess the previous day's lesson had created had been cleared up, even though the students that had been on cleaning duty yesterday should have done their job. Now he had seated himself on the teachers chair, just another normal chair but behind a slightly bigger desk then the students, facing the classroom and ultimately facing the window, and outside street. He'd been daydreaming for a bit, just of what he was going to eat when he got home, nothing interesting, when a young man entered his view given by the window, one with striking blonde hair. _'Strange, I haven't seen a blond-haired boy before.'_ or man, since on a closer look he didn't look much of a boy. But then again, Iruka had been wrong before, and this time it seemed that he was wrong _again_.

The boy tripped up.

If it had been anyone _other _then Iruka that witnessed the scene, they would have laughed 'till tears ran down their cheek, the mere fall ranking on high levels of comedy. At first, the blond boy's foot got visibly stuck in something [what exactly Iruka couldn't tell], and for a split second everything stopped only to restart again but in slow motion. Then the hands flew out as the body began losing balance, first swinging wildly to _regain _balance but then settling on cushioning the fall. The body tipped over, like a ship beginning to sink, and then _BANG!_ Face first, on the floor, bringing the brunette teacher to wince painfully at the blonde's expense. Face Plant.

Being the kind teacher that he was, Iruka immediately left the building towards the gate to see whether the boy was alright, perching next to him as the boy held his face, cursing under his breath. "Hey, are you okay?" The boy looked up at the new voice, probably having hoped to not have his embarrassment witnessed by another, his eyes watering as he looked up at the teachers face. Iruka's mouth automatically opened in a small 'O', his eyes widening slightly at the eyes that stared up at him, blue in colour, like the ocean or something, _shimmering. _"C-Come on, let me get you something to drink."

Naruto found himself sitting inside a classroom, still holding his slightly reddened face in pain, watching as the man that had dragged him into the school pour something into a cup. _'Maybe he's this schools teacher…'_ he had seen the sign outside on the street that said this was a school, 'Konoha Elementary Academy', or somewhere along those lines, so it made sense that the man would be a teacher; who else was in a school at this time in the morning? Said man turned around and walked up to Naruto, offering him the cup, which Naruto took gratefully, even more grateful when he saw what it was.

Hot chocolate.

"I'm Iruka-sensei, one of the teachers of this school. I usually watch people pass by until my students come in, although I haven't really seen you around before." That was true, Naruto had just arrived, but this was the first _real _person he was meeting, other then the guys that were part of the A.I. project, other then Sasuke, this was the _real _person that didn't know the _real _Naruto - this was a person that didn't know _Naruto_. A wide grin broke out on the blonde's face, one that almost blinded Iruka, making the teacher smile a bit in somewhat confusion as to what had made the boy get so incredibly happy all of a sudden. Especially after falling like _that_.

"I'm Naruto! Nice to meet you!" An estimation of the blonde's age would be around the late teens, if not middle, preferably middle, somewhere around sixteen, definitely not fifteen. He was tall, his body seemed to be well matured, but something about 'Naruto's [_'What a strange name,'_] _personality _made him seem childish, if not a whole lot younger.

"Naruto? That's a pretty strange name, but… It suits you, I guess." He shrugged lightly, leaning onto the desk as Naruto eyes suddenly widened, his head spinning left to right, in search of something. "Umm… Is something wrong, Naruto-san…?"

'_SHIT! WHAT'S THE TIME?!' _Finally, he'd found the clock, which had been placed right on top of Iruka-sensei's head, lodged onto the wall on top of the white board..

7:52

The boy got up, crushing the cup in his hand by fisting his fingers into a fist, his face stricken with horror, Iruka turned around to look at the clock, wondering what the hell was going on as Naruto began grabbing his stuff; jacket, shoe, bag. He was already hopping by the time Iruka turned around again, laughing sheepishly, still confused but merely accepting whatever was happening. He'd come to accept that the boy was _weird_ if not _strange_. What kind of a name was Naruto, anyway? Said strange boy left the building, screaming "SORRY IRUKA-SENSEI!" and "THANK YOU"'s as well as an explanatory "OH SHIT! I HAVE TO GET TO UNI!"

Iruka sighed, shaking his head humorously, the phrase _'boys will be boys'_ coming to mind. With only eight minutes left until the elementary officially opened, it was about time his students started arriving, and the first to enter the door happened to be a young boy Iruka knew as Konohamaru - such strange names parents chose nowadays. The boy looked behind him as he entered the classroom, looking at his sensei and back again at the retreating blonde head, eyebrows raised in question.

"Who's the big guy running away like his butt's on fire?"

Yup, boys will be boys.

Around fifteen minutes later [despite all the hardcore running he'd done] Naruto found himself standing at the University gates. Technically, his class had their first lesson starting at eight AM today, since each lesson had a different time. Sometimes, university days would start at three PM, other days eight AM, like today - and he was already seven minutes late. To find the class would probably take _ten _minutes, because despite having the address already figured into his system, it seemed Naruto _sucked _at directions. Something new he'd found out about himself. The campus was huge, seriously huge, with a gigantic ground starting from the gate to the actual building, even now some students were littered about, oh maybe a couple _thousands_.

Damn, he was already getting nervous.

"Okay, first thing first. Get to class." A mission, for him to do. Just like cleaning Sasuke's bedroom. No point in merely standing around, so he began walking down the pathway that led straight to the school's entrance which was lined with trees, pretty little trees that helped ease Naruto ever so slightly. He reached the door, and with a deep inhalation and exhalation, he went in. A couple of minutes later he found himself outside of his homeroom class, because strangely enough this University had classes were attendance was taken, one where the students could be from different faculties, mostly all the same age range. Standing outside, his hand hovered over the handle, fingers flexing slightly, sweat pores sweating as seconds ticked by. Breathing in deeply, he made the decision, and with that, he went into the Dragon's Lair.

There was a pink haired girl, a dark blue haired girl, a brunette haired girl and one pale blonde haired girl. There was a guy with dark sunglasses and a jacket that hid most of his face, a guy that had fang tattoos on his face, a fat guy, a round eyed guy with tight, green clothes, a red haired guy with black eyeliner on eyes, another brunette guy that looked pretty much normal save for his the fact that he was sleeping and a guy who had clear white eyes [he looked blind!]. The teacher had silver _weird _hair, and this bandanna kinda hid his right eye as well as this half mask that hid his mouth and nose [like a ninja!], and to be honest, Naruto was scared _shitless_. Of course, there were more students, each one sitting in their place chatting with a friend or simply doodling in their book, the attendance class having not yet properly started, but Naruto had the feeling that _each one _was staring at him intently, especially more considering he was the apparent new kid that had to transfer from lord knew where to this university in the middle of the first semester. The faculty of Medicine had taken an entry exam to see if he had the prior knowledge of the first year, in which he had aced easily considering Arashi had downloaded the first year Medicine into Naruto's hard drive, but not more, because they wanted to see the A.I.'s learning capabilities and speed. He still felt pretty _isolated _from everyone else. He looked _completely _different from them, they _all had friends_ while he was relatively alone and they were _all staring at him_.

Or so he first thought. On closer look, they were quiet _obviously _simply staring at Sasuke, who on second thought made it so that Naruto _wasn't _alone. He was seated, alone, already with a book out and a pen, looking like he always did; in control. At least, all the girls were staring at him, some of the guys simply glanced and returned back to their conversation, or maybe were just curious to see who the new kid [Naruto] was. Out of all the girls Naruto had first seen, the dark blue haired girl [who looked really shy] and the brunette [who was busy talking to the clear eyed guy] didn't seem too occupied with Sasuke, but the other girls were practically _staring_, even more, they seemed to be _drooling_ at maximised obsession for the obsidian-eyed Uchiha. But what scared the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy even further was the constant, watchful eye of the silver-haired teacher who stood behind his desk facing the class.

Because, by _god_, _none _of the knowledge packs Naruto had _included _anything on how to deal with gay superiors.

Sasuke, too, seemed to be slightly… _Worried _by the constant eye that bored into his young blonde partner, that constant eye that had _tormented _Sasuke _himself_ for years upon_ years_, following him _everywhere _he went. He had been _worried _about why Naruto hadn't arrived in the ten minutes since he'd left him, having parked his car in the parking lot, entered the school, _seated himself _and then thought _'Where the heck is that dobe?'_. Something he'd learned about Naruto: The boy was a bit of a ditz, if not complete _moron_. If he ever said anything intelligent, it was _definitely _only because of the damn _electronic _crap packs he had in him. _ALL BLONDES WERE IDIOTS. _Which went for that damn Ino as much as it went for Naruto. Not only did the dobe come to class _late _when he had all the time to come in _early, _but his hair looked _terrible_. It was all messy, the blond locks catastrophically angled that it kept covering those… Those… Those _damn _blue eyes. Merely seeing the boy enter the class had turned Sasuke face from the cool controlled 'start-of-the-day' look to his signature death glare sign and scowl. All directed at Naruto.

And obviously, that damn Kakashi was taking note of Sasuke's reaction; which only made the black-haired teen scowl harder, silently willing Naruto to _bloody sit down_. Naruto on the other hand, was going mentally crazy from pressure overload, a condition he recognized to be named a 'Nervous Breakdown'. On seeing Sasuke already seated [and shooting eye-daggers at him], the words that had haunted him into tripping outside the elementary school came to haunt him again. _"… We should pretend to not know each other in school."_

Obviously, it was something Itachi had said, so they would have to follow it, so _Naruto _would have to follow it, despite how much he didn't _want _to. There was the fact too that Naruto didn't really know much about Sasuke, heck, he knew _nothing _about Sasuke, other then him being Itachi's younger brother and Itachi being the owner of the Uchiha Corporation - the corporation that had created him, more or less - meaning Sasuke was rich, simply said. So all he knew was that Sasuke was rich… Not much to go on.

So while he was busy brooding and panicking at the same time, Naruto found himself to be seated, surprisingly [and delightfully] so. He had sat three rows up from where Sasuke had, the obsidian-eyed boy sitting on the second row from the front, so altogether, Naruto was on the fifth row. The closest person next to him was one of the lot he'd seen before; a guy that had fang tattoos on his face. He wore a hoody that was up, covering most of his hair, though Naruto was able to see that the boy had messy brown hair, and pretty sharp teeth. Some weird movement took place on the boy's chest, inside his coat, scaring the shit out of Naruto and forcing him to _look _away - only for his eyes to lock with the silver haired teachers.

"So… Let's start the attendance taking class." The teachers voice was _just _as strange as his hair, and Naruto had no clue as to what could have happened to the teachers hidden eye. _'Maybe it was plucked out!' _Farfetched idea, but nevertheless amusing. "As you can see, we have a new student, strange since we're already in the middle of our second semester, but everybody please meet…" He paused for a second, flicking through papers, obviously searching for Naruto's name. "Uzumaki Naruto. It's good to meet you, Uzumaki-san."

'… _What…?'_ He had a surname? A family name? And it was after Uzumaki-san? It made no sense, why did he have Uzumaki-san's surname? Technically, she should have taken Arashi's surname when she married him, though Naruto knew that she hadn't because everybody kept on calling her 'Uzumaki-san', but nobody had told him that _he _was going to take _her _surname. _'Does that mean I'm supposed to be married to her?'_ Oh man, confusing, obviously Sasuke had told them that Naruto's name was Naruto, that was obvious. Or so Naruto thought, but the blonde's opinion ended almost as quickly as it came, because on glancing at the teen in question, Naruto saw that Uchiha Sasuke had turned around, wide eyed with shock and horror, staring at Naruto in such a way that the poor blond immediately knew that it was _his _fault.

If he was to live with Sasuke, then he'd have to accept; It was going to _always _be Naruto's fault.

Break time. Or lunch time. Basically a time when students had some free time before another lesson began. This 'time' ranged from thirty minutes to _three _hours. Most of the classes had finished, although one more remained before both Naruto and Sasuke could go home, and right now Naruto was on the university grounds simply strolling, a bad weight pulling at his stomach - a sign that something bad was going to happen. His bad feelings were correct, because only moments later, a furious obsidian-eyed teenager flew out of nowhere, grabbing Naruto by the orange shirt the teen wore, pulling him into an alleyway between two university buildings that Naruto had never noticed before, pushing him up against the wall. First thing first; Sasuke was _furious_. Naruto had _never _seen so much _emotion,_ even if it was just plain old anger, etched into the pale teen's face, and despite the situation he was in, he couldn't help but feel a small sliver of pride at having induced such a look.

It meant they were going places.

"How the _hell _did they get that name?!" Oh, so he really _did _think it was Naruto who had given the name. _'Funny, 'cuz I thought it was you~'_ Sasuke was still talking, his lips moving as incredible speeds, asking question after question, firing them off like rounds in a gun, taking a deep breath to replace the magazine [something Naruto learnt held the bullets], and shooting off all over again. "Where the _hell _did you go after I left you in my car?!" Heh, all the questions had hell in them, _'Is Sasuke a religious person?'_

"WHY THE _HELL _WON'T YOU ANSWER ME!?"

Oh shit, back to reality. Naruto had gone off a bit in a daze, still feeling good at having caused Sasuke to literally _explode_, but making him _more _angry didn't sound good, no matter _what _the reasoning. _'Still…I wonder how far I can take this.'_ He immediately ditched the train of thoughts his mind had taken him too, knowing that it was a dangerous game to play, especially on the first day of his university. Sasuke was about to ask again, his fist tightening painfully on the hold he held Naruto, making the blond wince visibly. Naruto interrupted before Sasuke could start, one eye closed while the other frantically pleaded with Sasuke to let go, since he was still incredibly weak compared to Sasuke.

"I thought _you _gave them the name!"

Sasuke's hold stayed steady, not increasing but not letting go either, his eyes still wide with fury, boring into Naruto's own. An intense couple of seconds passed, poor Naruto feeling as if he would pass out, or lose himself in the dark abyss of Sasuke's eyes. _'It's almost peaceful…'_, in a sense, Sasuke holding Naruto by the shirt, no one around to see anything - just the two, staring at each other. That was, before Sasuke began firing questions again.

"Where did you go after I left you!? Did you _talk _to anyone?!"

"Sasuke! I just trippe---!"

"Damn it. Don't be late again! You stand out too much as it is with your ridiculous hair!" With that, the fist on his chest disappeared, the body heat that had radiated from Sasuke due to the close proximity disappeared, the blonde only then realizing how close they had been.

"But--!" Confused as to the change, Naruto could only squeeze the one word out, opting to shut up when Sasuke spun around and left the alleyway, only then seeing that some students had been walking past - if Naruto and Sasuke had continued talking [more like one-way arguing], they would have not only been heard, but probably _seen_. The black hair and pale skin combo turned and disappeared, not once glancing backwards. If he had, he would have saw Naruto's eyes slightly water up, his shirt ruffled and messed up, fingers curling into weak fists. If Sasuke had turned around, he would have seen that Naruto had done _nothing _wrong, and that it was all a big mistake, just an innocent mistake.

'_But he didn't.'_

Instead, Sasuke had left Naruto alone in the dark space between two of the university buildings, with a crumpled up shirt that didn't seem like the ironed one he'd worn this morning. Man, first he tripped outside an elementary school and now Sasuke was angry at him; definitely not a good start to his university life. But everything hadn't been bad, after all he had met Iruka-sensei, someone who seemed really kind, not to mention had received some tasty hot chocolate. He'd gotten over most of the awkwardness on his first day, not a lot but just the basics, and had made note of important things like hallways and schedule so he didn't screw up twice. So who cares if Sasuke blamed him for doing absolutely nothing? That bastard could shove it up his ass, yeah! _'Today is a good day!'_

With the positive thought lodged into his head, Naruto noticed that the students voices [the ones that had been close by] seemed to have gotten closer. On second thought, they _were _closer, two people, both guys just holding a conversation. Trying to straighten his shirt out, the blond A.I. left the darkness of the alleyway, blinking slightly at the bright sunlight that hit him as soon as he exited the coolness of the shade, the student's heads whipping up at the sudden intrusion - although Naruto was doing _anything _but intruding.

"Oi, your that new kid aren't ya'?" On hearing the voice, Naruto looked up, knowing that he was being addressed. The voice belonged to the person he had sat next to on the first class, the one with the strange fang tattoo's. The guy next to him was the guy who had been sleeping, the one with the really lazy expression, although now even he seemed to be slightly interested in Naruto. Feeling both their eyes bore into him, he nervously laughed, scratching the back of his head which basically answered their question. They came up to him, the one with the hoody grinning widely while the other just smiled, looking slightly sympathetic.

"Wha, so that damn Uchiha was grilling ya, wasn't he? Stuck up bastard, likes to bully the new kids all the time." _'Uchiha?'_ His face must have looked confused, because the hoody-tattoo's sighed and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, whirling him to the right, pointing at a person's back. Sasuke. He liked to bully new kids? That wasn't something Naruto had expected, all he was doing to him back there was… Was… Shouting at him… _'I see…'_

"I'm Kiba and this lazy bastard here's Shikamaru."

The 'lazy bastard' in question punched Kiba playfully, holding up a hand in greeting to Naruto. They both looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say his name, though Naruto couldn't fathom for the life of him why they would. Kakashi-sensei [the name of the weird silver haired guy] had practically told _everyone _his name. "U-Uzumaki Naruto…"

On hearing his name, they both grinned loudly, Kiba wrapping an arm around Naruto's shoulder, steering him to a table where some of the other teens he'd seen in the attendance class sat, Shikamaru following. Kiba was talking loudly, explaining things about the school and how all the weird-named kids needed to stick together against the evil that was the Uchiha's - Shikamaru spoke up reminding Kiba about the 'Hyuuga's [Naruto figured it to be a surname like Uchiha], and soon after they reached the table, where Naruto was able to see that the occupants of the table.

There was the fat guy, the girl with the pale blond hair [pretty damn long hair too], a guy with sunglasses and a jacket hiding most of his face, another with a weird bowl-like hair cut as well as weird eyebrows, the girl with pretty short brunette hair and the other girl that had clear eyes that almost seemed blind. They all got introduced to Naruto, so he was now able to put a name to their faces, which went in according of appearance; Chouji, Ino, Shino, Lee, Tenten and Hinata. Yeah, they all pretty much had weird names. The boy named Kiba loudly introduced Naruto to the group, they all waved and talked and asked questions, "Where you from?" "Here with your family?" "What are you studying here?" "What do you think of this place so far?" and a "Where did you buy that hair colour from?" from Ino, which really threw the blond boy off track.

Sitting on the table surrounded by new faces and new voices felt dizzying, exhilarating, _warm_, and he took a deep breath before answering each question to the best of his ability. "I'm from Tokyo, kinda sharing an apartment with a friend. I guess I'll be studying Medicine, and so far this place is really nice." As for the last question, he took a break to look at his hair, pulling a lock down into his view and scrutinizing it slightly. The rest of the teens watched him, curious as to why he was looking so intently at his own hair, Ino watching with a slight frown on her face [she was only there to cheat some answers of Shikamaru], and after a couple of minutes passed the blonde boy looked up and gave a sheepish grin.

"Gomen, but this is my natural colour."

The answer had Tenten laughing, Ino gaping and the others shocked, only Shino seemed to not be all too bothered by it at all. It was pretty obvious that they had thought his hair colour had been fake, just a result of some professional dye, Minato-san had informed Naruto that he would be getting a lot of that for both his hair and eye colour [Minato got a lot of that for his hair]. Still, the conversation flowed smoothly from one topic to another, with only a minimal of stuttering and stupid answers/questions from Naruto [who was quickly adapting to socialising]. Ino, after getting what she had come from, had left the group unceremoniously, accompanied with a lot of backbiting from Kiba, who got reprimanded by Shino in one word "Enough" - apparently Ino was part of the fan girl group of Sasuke's, co headed by her and the pink haired girl Naruto had seen before, named Sakura. True enough, a glance towards Ino's direction showed her with a group of girls closing in on the table that Sasuke sat, the pale-blond haired girl accompanied in the front lines by Sakura.

Feeling warm and fuzzy from his new experience, the rest of the day whizzed by pleasantly, a couple of strange _awkward _moments with the home-room professor, Kakashi-sensei, but nothing else happening. Despite everything having been good, there was still the underlying problem with Sasuke, and Naruto was feeling determined to not let it fester in silence, so at the present time he was making his way to the parking lot where he knew Sasuke would be heading to drive his car home. The A.I. stopped suddenly on seeing a pink head bobbing up and down next to Sasuke's car, on closer look seeing that it was Sakura talking to a leaning Sasuke, who was pretty much giving her the death glares Naruto had seen him give Minato-san back at the apartment. Again, what Sasuke had said in the early morning resounded in the young boy's head; _'we should pretend to not know each other' _so it was obvious he couldn't just go and talk to Sasuke with an eye-witness present. With that in mind, he kept his distance, not really hiding but not standing out too much too, making off handed notes like _"Sakura-san looks really pretty." _and _"Sasuke looks like he wants to kill her…"_ along with his mental voice adding in _"I don't blame that dumb bitch slutting over him~"_ which almost caused Naruto to choke on nothing but air.

The conversation between Sakura and Sasuke ended pretty quickly, what with only one party talking, the former taking her defeat positively and waving energetically to her love before walking off, heading in Naruto's direction. Once she noticed him, he smiled brightly, a polite smile, receiving another polite, small, smile from her, though she continued to walk past him, leaving Naruto with a stronger will to deal with Sasuke, who had just opened up the passenger seat to place his bag there.

With the open opportunity of the empty parking lot, Naruto walked briskly towards the obsidian eyed male, said male looking up on hearing footsteps heading his way. As soon as he saw the tan skin, the blue eyes and the blonde hair, a look of panic flashed across his eyes, suddenly grabbing the boy who was just about to speak by the shoulder and flinging him onto the passenger seat, a look to left and right confirming that nobody had noticed.

Sasuke sighed deeply, his brow furrowing up into a brow, and then turned to Naruto, choking slightly as he saw the cerulean eyes watering up, the A.I.'s face twisted into childish sadness. Immediately, a string of sentences had shot across his brain on the moment he saw Naruto, sentences like [_'I should have never accepted this'_ _'I'll kill that bastard Itachi' 'NONE OF THIS WILL WORK!' ] _making it pretty obvious that the patience that had been instilled into him by the existence of his Uchiha blood was running thin.

"Sasuke! I-I'm not sure why you're angry at me, or what I d-did wrong, but please forgive me!" _'Huh?'_ "I know that I'm probably really troublesome and- and- annoying, but… But…" _'Is he going to cry!?' _"PLEASE LET ME COME HOME WITH YOU!"

'…' This was Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha _Sasuke_, _Uchiha _Sasuke, the heir to the Uchiha Company come the death of Itachi [or retirement, most probably death], _this _was _Uchiha Sasuke_. He didn't have time to be teaching this child-like _android _how to be a human, he didn't have time to be _playing around _with this _android_, nor _feeling _anything for this _thing_. So with that in mind, why was Sasuke, oh yes, _Sasuke_, feeling guilty? At least, that was what he figured the feeling to be, all he could say was that it was as if there was a slight weight in his stomach, a bad taste in his mouth, a slight heavy tug at his heart every time it beat. Yeah… So he had been pretty bad today, especially how he had grilled the poor A.I. at break, and then leaving him alone to deal with the first day of being in a human-filled environment had probably been scary for him, but…

He was a _damn _Uchiha!

"… Yeah… Sure, hurry up and sit properly, and… Don't cry dobe..." Despite the tears that were still lodged in the cerulean eyes, the teen smiled brightly, relief exuding from his body as he placed his bag in the back passenger seats, removing Sasuke's bag from underneath his butt and putting it behind too. Sasuke circled the car, getting into the driver seat as Naruto put on the seat belt, his smile not as large as it usually was and his eyes still watery. The car slowly pulled away at first, backing up out of the parking slot it had once occupied, then chugged into a forward drive out of the university, disappearing as it turned smoothly into a turn.

And far away, a pair of clear, almost blind-like eyes watched carefully, face blank but with an apparent amusement underlying the almost invisible smirk. The long, black hair swished slightly as the figure turned away, a small spring in his steps. _'Today wasn't a complete waste, after all…'_

**Next Time;; **[Chapter Six] Garnet eyes inspected obsidian ones, a dangerous glint in the former, a wary glint in the latter. Sasuke winced slightly as the hands strengthened their grip on his shoulders, the nails protruding into his skin through his shirt. The holder of the Garnet eyes cocked his head slightly on noticing the wince, his hands alternating between strong and weak, a small smirk beginning to stretch itself across the tanned face. In one smooth motion, Sasuke's black t-shirt was ripped apart, thrown hazardously to the side, both hands returning to the pale teen's shoulders gripping them with an iron force until Sasuke gritted his teeth, pain visibly etched onto his face. With sadistic pleasure blatantly apparent, the hands suddenly moved, one lone finger with sharp nails outlining a large spiral on Sasuke's stomach, beads the colour of ruby, dark contrasts against the even-more-paler-then-usual skin, trailing after the nail in a taboo marking.

The obsidian eyes were dazed by the beauty of the Garnet's, transfixed, unable to look away. If something didn't change soon, if Sasuke didn't grab a hold of things soon… What exactly would happen…?

* * *

Hnn... SORRY FOR THE WAIT! School just started up for me, and while that really isn't an excuse, writer's block is, _and _the fact that I completely forgot where the /main/ plot of this story was going. And I mean forgot, nadda, gone, _zilch_. With that in mind, I still don't know what the main plot was, but I can tell you now, in whatever that plot was, _this _chapter was not in there - that and I've just come up with another plot, which has a lot of wholes but can all be explained with the fact that this is anime/manga. Shit happens. Personally said, I love the beginning off the chapter. XD

So, wuv you all, hate sand, and _love _reviews! And you're all going to _especially _love chapter six. 3

[[young~]]


	6. Garnet

**Last Time;; **The car slowly pulled away at first, backing up out of the parking slot it had once occupied, then chugged into a forward drive out of the university, disappearing as it turned smoothly into a turn.

And far away, a pair of clear, almost blind-like eyes watched carefully, face blank but with an apparent amusement underlying the almost invisible smirk. The long, black hair swished slightly as the figure turned away, a small spring in his steps. _'Today wasn't a complete waste, after all…'

* * *

_

**Instalment 6ix;;**

_**Garnet…**_

One day until a full week was up, and both Naruto and Sasuke were lounging about in the living room, the former with the remote while the other read a magazine he'd found outside his door. So far, no one had come to visit them from the Research Lab, which both were more then fine with, enjoying the serenity between each other that had come only after dealing up with the problems that the first day at Uni had brought. Naruto was flicking through the channels, stopping now and again on something that caught his eye, flicking through it again once his interest died. Sasuke had already warned Naruto how annoying the sound of the flicking channels were to his ear, but obviously his threat had fallen on deaf ears. On deaf _tanned _ears. It seemed that every part of the blond idiot was tanned, despite the fact that the _thing _[Sasuke had to remind himself constantly that it was a robot] wasn't real, and had only 'lived' for six days so far. His 'tanned skin' knowledge came from the embarrassing, awkward, first time when the Uchiha had to teach Naruto how to bathe.

Seriously.

Just remembering it brought an unfamiliar [and highly unwanted] stir in his loins.

--flashBACK--

"C-Can't I just bathe myself?"

"Oh stop being a wimp and take it off."

Incredible. How was Sasuke able to keep his cool with a naked Naruto in front of him? The toned, athletic body, the tanned, _tanned _skin, the feint but present outlines of muscles, especially on the stomach were a six-pack was as distinguished as the blonde locks that swayed slightly, still not wet - it should have all been too much, although for whatever reason that was the elder teen had no idea. Said elder teen was already feeling a slight nose bleed coming on, having by now accepted that he was experiencing some _physical _[no way he could care for that obnoxious attitude] attraction; because _by god _the A.I. had a nice ass.

Because by _god _he did.

All that was left was the boxers, black once more, strange since orange had been declared and fully understood to be Naruto's favourite colour, but nevertheless a godsend to Sasuke's eye candy, to _Sasuke's _Naruto. _'If he's my A.I., then goddamit he belongs to me.' _And all the little Uchiha's in his head vehemently agreed. The pair were in the Sasuke's bedroom, in his en suite toilet which was a clash of light and soothing colours, much to Naruto's liking. Naruto was shivering slightly, having been putting off removing his boxers for the last, good, ten minutes; much to Sasuke's growing annoyance. The Uchiha himself wore merely pants, loose pants, with no shirt, not wanting any other clothes to get wet, just in case. For all he knew, Naruto could become a whole lot more trouble to bathe then he expected, and the arguing wasn't really helping.

"But it's just water! I just have to use the soap don't I?!" Naruto's eyes were wide, panic written _bluntly _on them, quite obviously not wanting Sasuke to see him anymore naked then he already was. All he had to do was just turn on the shower using that tap, to the right if he wanted it more cold and to the left for more warm, and then use the soap across his body making sure to wash it off afterwards. "It's not like if I'm going to drown or something!" The showerhead wasn't going to spit out _that _much water, was it?

"Yes it is." _'Oh god, what the fuck kinda showerhead is this?!' _"I wouldn't put it past you to somehow slip on the wet tiles, bump your head, fall unconscious and slowly drown yourself to death. Now take off your boxers, or I'll pin you and take it off _for _you."

… Mmmm, _'pin'_. Such an interesting choice of words.

Naruto almost choked on his own tongue, blushing furiously, his cheeks flaming red, glad that Sasuke was behind him and only able to see his back. Reluctantly, _ever _so reluctantly, he hooked both his thumbs into his boxers ridges, each thumb at is sides, feeling the searing pressure of eyes on his butt. It made the blonde grow even more nervous, feel edgy, because lately it seemed that Sasuke had been _goggling _him any chance he got, which was a ridiculous concept to Naruto, but not to Naruto's sly subconscious voice, which had taken to speaking very dirtily lately. _'He'd love that, wouldn't he? Pinning you so he could violate your tight ass.' _Oh god, he could feel blood rushing to his face and hear it swirling in his ears, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut tightly.

The action brought a wave of nausea over the lad, something that had happened twice before over the almost complete week, bringing stars to Naruto's closed sight. A dull ache in his brain foretold the comings of a headache, another strange recurring symptom that slightly worried the blonde. And it seemed that each time they came, that each time Naruto became either dizzy, got a headache, maybe a stomach ache, his subconscious voice would get stronger, becoming an entity of its own rather then a part of Naruto that should have played a minor role. Each time it seemed that the voice became stronger, silkier, almost husky, deep, sadistically melodious as well as _stronger_. In fact, Naruto still had no idea how he had even _come _to Sasuke's room, an hour ago he's been in his bedroom when a sudden headache so strong had caused him to blank out, only to come too to find himself in Sasuke's bedroom.

Maybe he should tell Sasuke about this…

"Hurry up, dobe." The voice broke through his thoughts, an annoyed huff leaving his mouth as he heard the term Sasuke had gotten used to calling him lately. But being annoyed allowed Naruto to muster up some courage, and was just about to pull down the boxers in one swift move as well as throwing a insult back at Sasuke when a _paaaaiiinnfffuuulll _yank took hold of his stomach, pulling him down to the bathroom floor, the cold tiles ignored by the escalating pain.

"Shut up, Te--!" It was easy to notice that the stomach ache the idiot had been complaining loudly about the past few hours wasn't just due to bad food. Sasuke kneeled down to the already crouched Naruto, muttering words such as "breath" and "careful" while rubbing a soothing pattern on the tanned expanse of the A.I.'s back. The pain seemed to soften, at least at first, catch up again and once more go easy, the blonde's expression showing every bit of emotion that he felt. Sasuke was just about to suggest going back to watching TV, what they had been doing before Sasuke had caught a wiff of Naruto's week-old scent, when the obsidian-eyed teenager came to the realisation that his blond counterpart was… Frankly put… Asleep.

The dobe had passed out.

--/flashBACK--

And thus ended the bath-event. At that time, Sasuke had been able to drag an unconscious Naruto to the hallway when the idiot had woken up. An hour after the initial incident, Sasuke had allowed Naruto to go bathe himself, though he kept a vigilante stand outside the bathroom door just in case he heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. Of course, Sasuke had been hell bent on calling up the nerds at the Research Lab, but Naruto's begging persuasion and bribery of cooking Sasuke's favourite food [the Uchiha had become especially keen on Soba[1]] damped that hell bent into being _keen_, and more idiotic begging and promises of week-long Soba's pretty much… Annihilated any form of contacting the Research Lab at all. Maybe Sasuke was being stupid. Naah, impossible. The Uchiha had just logically come to the conclusion that the benefits from Naruto's side outweighed the disadvantages.

Still, even as the idiot continued to flick through the channels, the occasional pause and painful grunt were worrying the pale teen. "Oi, if it hurts that much, go eat some painkillers and sleep." Naruto turned to look at him, his expression and eyes blank for a split second before a weak grin plastered itself onto his face, the boy agreeing and getting up slowly.

"Guess you're right, where do you put the painkillers?"

"Kitchen cabinet right above the sink."

Naruto stumbled off, the sound of the tap turning on as the rattle of the pill bottle being open annoyed the Uchiha. Minutes later, the A.I. stumbled back into the room, waving a "Night, night, Sasuke~" and walking off to his room, hopefully falling asleep quickly.

Sasuke sighed, putting the magazine he wasn't really focusing on at the coffee table, picking up the remote and flicking the channel to a news channel, anything would do, preferably Al Jazeera International[2]. Something about a foreign company and the logo always caught the Uchiha's attention.

That damn blonde idiot better be asleep.

***

Birds were singing outside his bedroom window, waking the blond male from his deep slumber, a loud yawn opening tired, cerulean eyes. Naruto groaned loudly, grabbing at his stomach as he rolled of his bed, making note that the stomach ache from yesterday had yet to leave him, not to mention that his head hurt like hell. It had been about a full, good week from his first day at the University, everything had gone smoothly since the awkward first day, and things have returned to normal between Sasuke and himself - or as normal as things could get. Yesterday, back in the bathroom being stripped naked, things definitely couldn't have been called 'smooth'. Kneeling slightly due to the pain in his abdomen, Naruto squabbled out of his room to the toilet, which was now perfectly clean [it required professional cleaners, Naruto had outright refused to even enter it], exiting it minutes later, looking quite possibly worse then he had when he'd entered. His hair was even more outright messy then it usually was, catastrophically angled in illogical directions, each strand quite literally a strand of it's own. His cerulean eyes were dull, not the usual bright enigma that they would usually be, deep bags underneath them indicating that both the stomach pain _and _headache had kept the A.I. awake most of last night. There was the stuffy nose to count too, the _extremely _annoying tickle in his throat that would cause Naruto to cough, one cough turning into about a dozen cough, each one leaving him wheezing at the end. No matter which way you looked at it, this morning, Naruto was most definitely sick.

But that wouldn't stop him from making breakfast, something he had learnt throughout the week to be enjoyable [cooking that is], and today morning a simple breakfast of toasted bread would do. Toasted bread and orange juice, of course, the fridge had been filled with random goodies on the second day of Naruto's stay. Sasuke entered the kitchen, his hair slightly wet from the shower he'd just taken, bumping slightly into Naruto as he walked in. The bump made Sasuke look up straight into Naruto's face, almost instantly noticing that the young blonde wasn't looking good at all. At first, the pale teen decided to keep silent about it, the usual Uchiha voice in his head saying _'Not like I care about the dobe'_, since Naruto wasn't complaining anyway [over the week, it turned out Naruto was a loudmouth, a lot like that Inuzaka brat back at the Uni].

A pale arm grasped Naruto as the blonde suddenly doubled over, almost tripping in the act, clutching at his stomach in pain, Sasuke immediately deciding that the blonde really _wasn't _feeling all too good today. Sasuke carefully manoeuvred the still aching blonde towards one of the kitchen stools, the obedient Naruto accepting the stool graciously. Sasuke's hands were on either one of the blonde's shoulder, the A.I.'s head level to the obsidian eye's stomach. Today was a University today, only two seminars though, so instead of dragging along a pained Naruto, it would be much simpler to make him sleep, right?

Naruto on the other hand was pretty much confused as to _why _his stomach was hurting him, as to _why _his brain was throbbing with each second, his nerves split on ends with electricity coursing through them. Nobody had told him about falling sick, true he still had about three to two days until he would be as strong as the average male, but that had _nothing _to do with whatever Naruto had been coming down with for the past two days, more or less. Maybe there was some sort of virus going around? One that the lab workers hadn't gotten round to making Naruto immune too? He continued to think along the same lines, trying to come up with a logical explanation when one of Sasuke's palms gentle [_'gently?'_] touch the blonde's forehead.

"You're running a fever. Stay home today, go sleep."

"I can't! It's Uni today! Who'll write my---" Pain. Everywhere. "W-who… Who'll write my notes? And you'll go right? Don't stay here b-because of me!" Sasuke '_cheh_'ed, obviously annoyed at being argued against, just like that damn bathroom time. He was just about to speak again when he noticed that the shoulder underneath his right hand had relaxed, slumped slightly, and that the blonde's head was leaning slightly against his left palm. It was as if the blonde had suddenly fallen asleep. Curious, Sasuke bent down slightly, folding his knees to get to eye level with the seated A.I., peering into the cerulean eyes to see what was going on.

They were blank.

Blank in the sense that they were a dull blue, just blue, completely and utterly _normal _blue, almost similar to those Hyuuga's blind-like stare. Naruto's whole posture had become similar to when he'd first arrived at Sasuke's apartment [which was a whole lot clean and presentable now], but back then he'd pretty much been asleep, and the eyes had been closed - now it seemed as if Sasuke was looking at the results of a victim of some mental trauma.

"Naruto…" Colour had begun to return to the eyes as soon as Sasuke had muttered [for Uchiha's don't whisper] the boy's name. "You need to sleep."

Blink. Blink. Blink. The dull, faded, blue eyes returned to their bright cerulean, sprinkles and sparkles, similar to the ocean on a bright, sunny day, shined under chaotic blonde locks, still slightly droopy due to the obvious fever. The younger teen was about to start complaining, but shut his open mouth as soon as opening it on seeing Sasuke's stern expression telling him to shut up. Two arms helped the blonde up from the stool, and the pair began walking out of the kitchen, across the hallway to the opening of the second bedroom, where the door was ajar ever so slightly.

It creaked slightly as Sasuke pushed it open with his foot, his arms occupied with holding the slightly unbalanced Naruto, who couldn't help but lean in much more closer then he usually would have just to get some of the heated body warmth that radiated from the Uchiha due to the bath he had taken. _'The water must have been really hot…' _he thought absent minded, noticing that he had been placed on his bed, sheets tucked around him by still gentle hands [_'Am I dreaming already?'_] and the same command given once more, just for clarification. His subconscious voice couldn't help but snicker.

"Sleep."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk slightly as the ceruleans eyes suddenly vanished under the eyelids, Naruto's soft lips [_'soft lips?'_] parting slightly as the boy breathed in and out deeply, steadily, smoothly. He placed some medicine onto the table that was close by, not quite sure whether they would work on Naruto or not, but if the blonde had been able to get sick then he should be able to get well too. Remembering how Naruto had told him not to stay for his sake, Sasuke left the bedroom, closing the door slowly, perplexed by its creaking. While it might have seemed cruel hearted to leave Naruto all alone [because even Sasuke knew what was right and what wasn't] there was the fact that if _both _Uchiha _and _Uzumaki [one might as well accept the surname] were absent, many wouldn't just see that as a coincidence. With his bag ready, his car key found, the youngest Uchiha left the apartment, closing the door behind him carefully, out of habit taking one last, long look at the living room before he left.

His house was perfect.

Three hours later, after two long, lecturing seminars concerning the muscles in the neck and shoulders, Sasuke was standing outside his apartment door, casually taking his keys out of his pocket and locating the right key to enter the lock. With a quick turn and a paranoid glance to both right and left to see if anyone was watching him [he was paranoid, dammit], Sasuke opened the door and entered his home, removing his shoes first and placing his bag on the shoe rack lazily. As soon as the shoes were also placed on the shoe rack, he picked up his bag again, since obviously the shoe rack wasn't the place for bags full of medical books and knowledge, and took his time to look up at his living room.

His house had been trashed.

The sofa's had been thrown sideways, their pillows seemingly ripped apart so that the insides were visible for the world to see. His plasma screened television, which was freakin' 32 inches, had been thrown onto the floor, it lay tilted, showing nothing but the static of white, grey and black. The table were one could place their foot on, or put a cup of coffee while watching TV had _literally _been broken in _two_, _literally_, leaving Sasuke to gape, thinking only one thing; _'What the fuck happened here?'_

Immediately on thinking so, Naruto popped into his head, a surge of panic rising up within him as thoughts of kidnapping and hostage-taking scenarios popped up in his head. Someone had robbed Sasuke, so far nothing seemed taken [someone would have definitely taken his TV rather then break it], meaning they had come for _one _thing and _one _thing only; An A.I. Throwing his bag to the side, Sasuke began scouring every inch of the living room, just in case Naruto had come in here afterwards and had hidden somewhere. He checked the balcony, a place where in the past week Naruto had grown accustomed to staying out on, yet no sign. He moved onto the kitchen, checking everywhere [even the cupboards] yet no sign of the blonde haired, blue eyed teenager. Next Sasuke checked his own bedroom, the toilet, the _storage room_, yet no sign of Naruto _anywhere_. Finally, the only room left was Naruto's. The door _creaked _open _slowly_, eerily almost, not soothing Sasuke's panic-stricken nerves at all, the door opening to reveal that this room too was just as messed up as the rest of the house had been, including Sasuke's bedroom.

But there was still no sign of Naruto.

Sasuke's belief had grown stronger now, he was _definitely _going to get killed by Itachi, because Naruto was _definitely _not anywhere around, he had _definitely _been kidnapped. While thinking _'How do I explain this to that man…?'_ Sasuke walked further into the room, just passed the door, as if to fully understanding the situation he was in. It was while his brain was overloaded with worst-case scenarios [all of them strangely including Naruto tied to a bed] that the eerie creaking of the door reached the obsidian's ears. Before he had even thought to turn around to see whether someone was there or not, one arm had snaked it's way from behind Sasuke, from across his right shoulder to his left, the hands and fingers clutching at the left shoulder in a one-armed embrace. A husky, deep, almost melodious voice softly whispered into Sasuke's left ear, the hot breath ghosting over the shell, an uncharacteristic shiver coursing through the Uchiha's body. Sasuke stiffened, his body thick with tension, his mind completely blank. His mentality had taken the wrong reaction, to _freeze _like this was something Sasuke would have _never _done.

The youngest Uchiha was fairly knowledgeable in the art of defence, due to the nature of him _being _an Uchiha meant that he was very much either hated or loved by the general populace. There had been many kidnapping events in his childhood, even some now, so while a bodyguard would do perfectly, knowing some self-defence had always been vital. Despite this, despite the fact that Sasuke was a very skilled Martial Artists, _every single lesson _he had learnt, _trained_, flew out of the window the moment the door shot. Because the voice, the tanned arm around his shoulder holding Sasuke firmly [almost viciously] in place could only and _did _only belong to one person.

"Glad you could join me~"

Naruto.

How could this make sense, _it didn't make any sense_. The youngest Uchiha was glad, no _relieved_, that the A.I. was safe, but _'what the hell is going on…?'_. The one arm on his shoulder's grip strengthened, using the force to spin Sasuke around 180 degrees, the grip moving to lay a stretched out palm across Sasuke's chest, pushing him instantly against the wall facing the bed. The impact threw all of Sasuke's sense out of the window, the shock causing him to slide against the wall to the floor, Naruto's figure looming on top of him for a split second before said teen crouched down to be eye-level with the Uchiha. Naruto was fucking _strong_. As soon as reaching down, Sasuke's eyes fixated on the sight in front of him. What he saw was an almost feral looking Naruto, his blonde hair seemed more orange then blonde, with reddish tips, the teens cerulean eyes now a deep maroonish colour, almost red but something else, almost _garnet_. A glance to the hands that had now moved to either side of Sasuke's shoulder, gripping them fiercely to hold the black-haired in place, were home to sharp, long nails, similar to those you might see vampires with, the fingers long and skinny [something Sasuke had never noticed before]. It was all probably to make sure to keep Sasuke in place, to not have him struggle at all, to defeat and destroy _any _logical thinking the awe-stricken Uchiha might have had. Which it did.

Garnet eyes inspected obsidian ones, a dangerous glint in the former, a wary glint in the latter. Sasuke winced slightly as the hands strengthened their grip on his shoulders, the nails protruding into his skin through his shirt. The holder of the Garnet eyes cocked his head like a puppy slightly on noticing the wince, his hands alternating between strong and weak, a small smirk beginning to stretch itself across the tanned face. In one smooth motion, the shirt Sasuke had been wearing, a simple yet tight black t-shirt, was ripped apart, almost with an animalistic grace, thrown hazardously to the side, both hands returning to the pale teen's shoulders gripping them with an iron force until Sasuke gritted his teeth, pain barely kept from visibly etching onto his face. With sadistic pleasure blatantly apparent on Naruto's almost demonic face, the hands suddenly moved, one lone finger with sharp nails breaking the skin on his stomach in a large spiral, beads the colour of ruby, dark contrasts against the even-more-paler-then-usual skin, trailing after the nail in a taboo marking.

The obsidian eyes were dazed by the beauty of the Garnet's, transfixed, unable to look away. If something didn't change soon, if Sasuke didn't grab a hold of things soon… What exactly would happen…?

***

'_What… Have I gotten myself into…?' _

The sky outside had become dark, it was obvious by the amount of time that Sasuke feared had passed, and the fact that Naruto had come in and flicked on the lights to Naruto's bedroom, were both in, explained that too. Sasuke had been tied up to Naruto's bed, using strands torn from the already destroyed black-shirt, the Uchiha's chest bare while his trousers were dangerously low riding [they were _supposed _to be low riding, but in this certain situation, it wasn't a good thing]. Now and again, Naruto [or whoever was inhibiting the damn body] would come in and out of the room, seemingly agitated, troubled, _hurt _even, but Sasuke had yet to speak directly to him since it seemed that the teen wasn't all too stable to talk to. What the Uchiha _had _been able to get out of all the hours of confinement was that Naruto _still _had the stomach ache, and apparently a head-splitting headache too, due to the times when Naruto was in the toilet vomiting or in the room nursing his aching head, rocking slightly like a child.

It almost pained Sasuke to watch.

Once more, the door abruptly opened, the creak completely gone - as strange as that was. The wild eyed teen entered the room, pacing slightly as he looked around, now with a new idea to fling everything out of the cupboard and table - papers, clothes, pens, _everything_. Offhandedly, Sasuke noted the black boxers Naruto had been wearing that time when he'd tried entering the room among the items thrown. But no more waiting for the A.I. to calm down, no more. The Uchiha had his reputation to keep up.

"What the fuck is this, dobe?"

How strange, when Sasuke had been worried Naruto had been kidnapped, most of the scenarios that had popped up in his head had been _Naruto _tied up to a bed, most probably unclothed to an extent. Instead, it was the obsidian-eyed teen who was tied up, practically shirtless [unclothed to an extent], and if Naruto had been an animal, a fox presumably, then Sasuke could have described that Naruto's ears perched up the moment he spoke, and after hearing him his head slowly turned to face Naruto, the deep frown _slowly_, ever so _slowlyyyyyy_, turning into a _smmmiirrrrkkkk_.

It was fucking frightening.

There was no longer any sign of agitation, the _hurt _itself was no longer present, all there was now was pure and _utter _amusement plastered onto the face that had once been childish, once been so utterly naïve and _bright_. Over the hours, one could say that Naruto's features had slowly… _Sharpened_, so to speak. The small remains of baby fat around the cheek and jaw had been smoothed into a sharp jaw -almost feminine [almost _Uchiha-like_]-, the wide cerulean eyes that sparkled like the ocean had been transformed into narrow, garnet-coloured visions of pure _seduction _[the truth, no matter how lewd, must be said], and that left little imagination for the body. Before, Naruto had always seemed to have a normal body, like any other teenager, clothes looked good on him, some looked _terrible_, but now, over the hours Sasuke could very much say that the probability of looking good and not looking good had been _annihilated_.

With the way Naruto looked now, he would steal every single one of Sasuke's fan girls _and _the hearts of males, be them haters or lovers. Before, Sasuke had made the observation of Naruto's nails looking very much similar to vampires… Hours later, it seemed _everything _of Naruto was very much similar to vampires, his eyes, his _beauty_, and most definitely his teeth. Because ladies and gentlemen, Naruto had fangs. Slightly long, upper canines that ended in a sharp, dangerously pointy, tip, almost begging to be sunken into the unsuspecting neck of a target. Sasuke would be damned if he were that target.

He repeated what he said again, trying to exude self confidence despite the fact that he was still very much wary. The smirk on the other's face grew longer till it almost stretched his face, a deep, eerie, almost frightening aura radiating off the younger male. Naruto stopped on reaching the bed, his head cocked slightly in mock pondering, as if wondering whether to answer or kill. Shut the victim up and then _suck his blood_. Sasuke's hair was already standing on end. With the thinking time up, the expression of thinking was replaced with another _ssssllloowww sssmmmiiirrrkkk_, so achingly slow that you wondered when it began and when it ended. Naruto leaned across the bed, the weight denting it slightly, Sasuke's eyes widening a fraction in shock as the other body moved into his personal space. Now Naruto was on top of him, face level, Sasuke tied up while either one of Naruto's palm on either side of Sasuke's head. The lips parted slightly, in an open smirk, and one of the palms moved down to trace the full spiral scar Naruto had inflicted Sasuke with.

"It looks good on you…"

God, everything looked good on him, from the ripped remains of the black t-shirt tying Sasuke's hands up to the low riding jeans, loose and _ever-so-low_. Naruto licked his lips, a move that had Sasuke's eyes widening more, ever-concealed panic flashing behind the obsidian eyes, an expression Naruto just couldn't get _enough _off. He stopped his moving palm to lie on top of the still sore wound, his victim wincing at the discomfort due to the skin still being hyper sensitive. _Oh-so-_many thoughts and actions ran through the garnet-eyed beauty's mind, none of them would be welcomed by the Uchiha and _all _of them could be summarized in one word; _violate._

"You… Thought I'd been kidnapped…"

Sasuke noticed that Naruto spoke slowly, as if thinking through each word before speaking it, choosing his words carefully - something the normal Naruto would have never done. This wasn't Naruto, it couldn't be Naruto, _his _Naruto had cerulean eyes, wide and thoughtful, _never _thought before speaking. _His _Naruto had become friends with all those loser bunches back at Uni, had pretty much become loved by everyone in every class, even become Kakashi's favourite past time target for his teasing. Whoever this was was an impostor, maybe some sort of failed A.I. project, whatever this was must have caught some sort of goddamn virus!

"Yup~ A virus I am."

A virus that could read minds. _'Holy…!'_ With each and every passing second, Sasuke was losing his characteristics, his _bloody Uchiha-ness_, with each and every passing minute this… This… This…!

"… Kyuubi…"

This _thing _was taking control of the situation! With newfound vigour, Sasuke pulled at the binding threads, pulling them and grunting slightly until strong fingers wrapped around his tied wrists, stopping them completely. Naruto's face came in closer, ever so close to Sasuke's own, so close the latter could feel the former's hot breath, strangely a mix of cinnamon and oranges. The smirk transformed into a rudely polite, equally large, smile, Naruto's head twisting slightly so that it occupied the slight space between the nook of Sasuke's shoulder and neck, once more reminding the teen of vampires. Suddenly, right before Sasuke was going to speak, something wet smeared itself across his neck, from shoulder to his ear, disappearing to allow the deep voice to resonate in Sasuke's ear.

"You thought… That whoever had kidnapped me… Would do _this, _right?"

_Kyuubi_ licked along the shell of his victim's ear, loving how Sasuke tried pulling away, how Sasuke's breath _almost_ quickened, how Sasuke let out the smallest of a gasp due to shock, though if it was only due to shock _Kyuubi _had the pleasure of not knowing. His victim quickly regained his composure, back under the Uchiha control that _Kyuubi_ was enjoying to break. The figure underneath him was so incredible weak to Naruto's power, no, _Kyuubi_'s power, but nevertheless that same, annoying little voice that had been bothering the garnet-eyed teen right from the start spoke up, whispering refusal, pleading to stop.

'_--Stop this… Don't hurt… Him…--'_

That coward, _that fool_.

Did he not understand that he was a slave to this human? Did he not he get it, that he could be so much _more_ if he only _allowed _himself to be? The garnet virus snapped his neck towards the door, as if someone had arrived, though no one was home nor was expected to be. It would just be Sasuke and Naruto, just the two of them. Thinking that, a low growl left the canine-teethes, and to much of Sasuke's pleasure, the self-named 'Kyuubi' got off the bed, stalking his way out of the room, slamming the door so hard that it opened right up again.

Soon after, a giant crash resounded from somewhere that Sasuke could only guess was his living room.

He pushed the thought away, refusing to bother thinking long on it, only in getting the _hell out of there_, so he began struggling like a mad man, hearing a loud scream [or was it a roar?] _rippling _through the air, followed by another large crash signalling that something _else _had been thrown. The wound on his stomach hurt like hell, almost reopening with the frantic Uchiha's movements, a silent mantra repeating itself in his head; '_I am no longer an Uchiha, I am no longer an Uchiha, I am no longer an Uchiha._' He vehemently believed that he had failed _pathetically _as an Uchiha.

After a couple more pulls and tugs, Sasuke found the ropes to have loosened considerably, and he was now able to free himself with ease. Another large crash [just what the hell was that _monster_ doing to his property?] resonated, small earthquakes shaking the apartment and most probably the neighbouring houses. With the amount of noise coming from the crashing alone [never mind the bloody shouts], Sasuke knew that he'd be getting hell from the landlord, and the Uchiha wouldn't be looking forward to it.

Now a free man, the young adult made his way stealthily across the bedroom, reaching the ajar door and slipping through it; singing praises for the 'virus' and his ridiculous strength. The hallway was eerily quiet, even the living room [where he believed _**IT **_to be] had now settled into a tranquillity that felt as fragile as a thin, lone, thread. Quickly, he was able to make quick work of the hallway, checking silently into the kitchen, confirming that it was empty; just as he had thought, _**IT **_had been in his living room trashing the house even further.

Before he carried on, he turned back to the hallway, entering his bedroom and grabbing a mobile phone he always kept there, just in case. Speed dialling, he tried calling Itachi, knowing full well this wasn't the time to be messing around. It seemed Naruto had really caught himself a _virus_. Of all things. The phone kept ringing, only being picked up by the operator lady stating that "The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again". He did. And got the same response. He tried five more times, then decided to barrage his elder brother with text messages, furiously typing away at the small pad, three simple messages [that was more then enough] that went along the lines of;

_NARUTO. TROUBLE. NOW._

_VIRUS? HOUSE TRASHED. CALL NOW._

_DON'T BOTHER CALLING. GET HERE. NOW._

Following it up with the same three text messages to Misato, he exited his bedroom and returned to his previous position, his black socks making no noise on the carpet as he carefully made his way to the living room, only a few steps away, feeling oddly like a ninja, a Shinobi. If he had ever experienced a previous life as a Shinobi, he'd have definitely been part of the Uchiha Clan, a clan that would have been most famous in whatever country he called his abode. Since ninja's held a tendency to have the elements at their bay [at least, that's what those damn anime's kept spewing], Sasuke couldn't help but marvel at the _obvious _fact that the Uchiha Clan would, first and foremost, be _skilled _in the art of fire, flames, _fire_. What an amusing thought.

A black strand dropped into his field of view as he tipped his head over the entrance to the living room, scanning the place once with his obsidian eyes, and then doing another sweep over before he spotted a flash of blonde huddled in a corner, tanned, still lethal-looking, hands holding-- no, cradling the head as if in immense pain. Sasuke still couldn't be sure who exactly it was that had control over the body - he'd noticed the other's eyes fighting between a deep garnet and an astounding cerulean, oddly wondering how he'd never noticed people's eye colours before.

A sudden jerk of movement made the Uchiha watch as the blonde fiercely crashed his own head against the wall he had been huddled against, a horrible _CRACK _reverberating off the walls, which rippled slightly under the sudden attack. Naruto's face winced in pain, but not of shock, the eyes closed tight before opening slightly, the orbs a hazed cerulean. Soon after, almost an instant later, the blue eyed figure bent to place his head on his bent knees, his fingers once more threading into his blonde locks, the body rising slightly in shuddering breaths, a strange noise making across to Sasuke's ears. He could only recognise it for what it was after a particularly, heart wrenching, muffled cry.

The younger teen was racked with sobs.

The Uchiha couldn't catch much of what Naruto was saying, because he now knew it was Naruto, _his Naruto_. Not the damn virus, not a mixture of both, but _his goddamn Naruto_. Straining his ears, he gave up as soon as he started, finding himself slowly taking a step closer, out of the safety of the entrance to the room, followed by another step, and another. Naruto hadn't yet noticed his presence, but looking around one more time, Sasuke could now see the full extent of the damage done to both his house _and _his A.I.

His house really _had _been trashed.

_Nothing _had been spared, absolutely _nothing_. His television, in all it's previous glory, now lay broken _cleanly _in half, still somehow showing static, though the Uchiha didn't linger too long on it to wonder why. He had actually _liked _that Plasma. The sofa was in countless pieces, what had previously been just another _clean _cut [at least _**IT **_held _some _elegance] now resembled the result of a pack of _hungry, hungry _wolves. Or some hunter dogs that had caught the whiff of a fox in his sofa. Or a raging bear. Or a rather carnivorous hippopotamus. It all fit splendidly into what he was now looking at. Of course, the glass wall that led to his balcony had not been spared. It lay, broken into a thousand shards, some of them nearing and even passing where Naruto lay huddled, Sasuke worried whether the teen had trampled all over them and sat on some too. He also couldn't help but worry about exactly _what _had been thrown out of said window - he doubted it had been _simply broken._ Nothing in the house was _simply broken._

"P-P-P-Please… I d-didn't… Didn-n't… Mean t-t-too…"

His stomach lurched involuntarily as he looked back at Naruto, noticing the tremor that shook along the whole body, along the delicate shoulders, the fingers that continued to be threaded through vibrant blonde hair that seemed strangely a tad bit duller, along the bent knees, even the feet that wore no socks. Another breathless cry of an anguished soul got Sasuke's legs moving, until he lay hovering over the younger adult, just as _**IT **_had hovered over him maybe hours ago, maybe minutes.

Maybe it had been the shadow that suddenly lapsed over him, or the mere sensation that he wasn't alone, but it seemed then that Naruto finally recognised Sasuke's presence, staring up from his fingers hesitantly, flinching visibly when he saw that it really _was _Sasuke, burying his head back into his knees, the fingers at his hair pulling tighter, as if the repressed figure _welcomed _the pain.

Sasuke was trying to get closer to him, Naruto could feel it, but he could also feel his subconscious rear it's ugly head back up, the blonde struggling hard to keep consciousness, knowing full well that when he fell into the comforting black, _it _would take control. _It _would h-… _It _would hurt… Hurt Sasuke again… He couldn't bare to do that again, to see the widening of eyes, the wary stare, the glint of not comprehending the situation-- he couldn't----

--- "Naruto…"

'_W-Why…?' _Why was Sasuke leaning down now, on his knees, slowly wrapping his arms around him…? W-Why did his arms feel cool, pleasantly so for the blondes fever-ridden heat, his fingers prying the Naruto's fingers out of his hair? Why wasn't Sasuke angry? Screaming at him, shouting at him, telling him how much he despised the _robot_. Maybe he thought… Maybe he… Maybe he was showing some sort of mercy, not wanting Naruto to see the hatred, hence why the Uchiha's palm was on his blonde head, which was still buried in his knees? _'I.. I can't let him g-get h-h-hurt again…'_

"D-Don't, S-S-S-Sas… 'Ke…" His voice trembled like a tight rope being played with. The blondes throat ached _horribly_, making him have to take a gulp of whatever saliva he could muster in his dry mouth and swallowing it before he could continue saying Sasuke's name. "I d-don't… Want to h-h-hurt… You…"

The arms around him slowly applied pressure, as if giving Naruto the chance to refuse the offer, though why he would do that was beyond him. The boy felt so warm, so hot, and Sasuke could tell now, what with the close proximity, that the boy really _was _a bit too warm. His blonde hair lay dampened against his scalp, not possessing the _volume _it usually did. Simply being close to the boy made Sasuke no longer feel any cold, for he was shirtless, and it actually happened to be _winter _in Japan. Winter's in Japan were not forgiving.

'_Where is that damn Itachi..?' _Sasuke mentally ground out, throwing all the questions of _why _he was hugging the blond out of his head. He could deal with them later, or not deal with them at all. They weren't really important, were they?

The pair stayed there, Sasuke removing an arm from around Naruto, who shivered slightly, to carefully brush at the glass shards that were around them, seating himself properly next to the blond once he was satisfied, his arm snaking it's way around him once more. The sky outside was bordering on dawn, the elder of the pair [by a measly months through the "official" records, though years due to the technicality that Naruto had been _made _and not _born_] watching the outside sky through the broken glass wall as the sun began rising, the night now fading to give way to day.

Naruto soon began to nod off to sleep, exhausted both mentally, emotionally and physically from the whole week. At first he fought it off, feeling the need too, but then gave in when Sasuke pushed his own knees into the other, causing the blonde to lean more into the Uchiha, obviously being told to sleep. Of which he did. Deeply.

Sasuke, on the other hand, stayed awake, a deep twirl in his stomach resting heavily, pooling at the bottom of his gut, as if warning him that the day had not yet ended. It was obvious that something was wrong, not with Naruto -though definitely with him too- but with Itachi and Misato. They should have picked up their phones to begin with - Sasuke rarely called unless something off importance, so they always picked up, especially Misato who took it as an opportunity to bug the boy. If he wasn't going to pick up, Itachi would send a text message explaining why; because sometimes one couldn't pick up a phone from your little brother in a business meeting.

Yet hours passed, the dawn began turning to noon, then to afternoon, then evening. Dusk was befalling on the pair, and still, not a word.

Uchiha Sasuke was beginning to panic.

**[TBC]

* * *

**

Oh god. Oh _gawd_. I know it's the fifth of January of _2010!! _So I dunno, I missed Halloween and Christmas, maybe I was in time for New Years despite the fact it's five days late? I'M SO SORRY THOUGH. DX I had written almost all of this, to the bit where Sasuke goes "Wtf is this dobe", but then got... Stuck... I didn't know how to carry it on, WHAT to carry it on with, I even began forgetting where I was planning this whole damn story to go. [Honestly said, I still can't really remember... XD] But then I finally got down yesterday and finished it off, and then was able to make it sorta smooth itself to the next chapter, which there's no preview for BECAUSE OF TEH SUSPENSE. *horror song*

So you're reviews are absolutely HEARTWEARMING, hate to have made you wait so long, and please _do _review and leave me a message, I know this chapter is actually pretty bad, choppy and not flowing. Hopefully, next chapter, number seven, will be better, na~? Hopefully... D:

[1]Soba: Japanese noodles - a Japanese dish of buckwheat noodles.

[2]Al Jazeera International [The Channel] is Copyrighted to Al Jazeera and all it's rightful owners. I merely find the logo very, _very_, pretty.


	7. Sign Part 1

**Last Time;; **Sasuke, on the other hand, stayed awake, a deep twirl in his stomach resting heavily, pooling at the bottom of his gut, as if warning him that the day had not yet ended. It was obvious that something was wrong, not with Naruto -though definitely with him too- but with Itachi and Misato. They should have picked up their phones to begin with - Sasuke rarely called unless something off importance, so they always picked up, especially Misato who took it as an opportunity to bug the boy. If he wasn't going to pick up, Itachi would send a text message explaining why; because sometimes one couldn't pick up a phone from your little brother in a business meeting.

Yet hours passed, the dawn began turning to noon, then to afternoon, then evening. Dusk was befalling on the pair, and still, not a word.

Uchiha Sasuke was beginning to panic.

* * *

**Instalment 7even;;**

_**SIGN. [part 1]**_

Getting Naruto from the living room to his bedroom was a difficult task; one Sasuke hadn't yet done. He still lay, bundled up next to the still-sleeping boy, the moon thankfully providing more then enough light through what had previously been the glass wall leading to the balcony. The moon was incredibly huge, with the different shades of whatever-colour-it-was-supposed-to-be craters on it, visible as if it were right in front of him, and not far off in space. He'd never admired it before, nor stopped to just think of it's existence, how on earth it had gotten there, where it came from, what it was made from - but in the past three hours or so, that's what he'd been doing.

That's all he had been doing.

"Naruto… Come on… You need to sleep…"

The blonde moaned, his head resting on the Uchiha's shoulder. "Just… Here…"

"Naruto, we're sleeping on shards of _glass_."

"Dun' matter…" Was that a hint of amusement Sasuke heard in the boy's voice? "Can't.. Feel…"

"But I can. Now **UP**."

The boy groaned once more, obviously loathing the idea of moving; but slowly began to comply, only being able to move his head a bit before it returned back to it's place. Sasuke frowned slightly, but quickly figured out that the boy was too dizzy, far too exhausted, to even move his own head let alone get to either one of their bedrooms. He shifted slightly, moving so that he had a arm wrapped around the other's waist, fully well ignoring the little voices that began talking in his head. This was not the time for lecherous thoughts, nor to truly appreciate just how _incredible _the boy's waist felt--

'_Wait.'_ Which bedroom should he take the blonde?

True, the AI's own bedroom was closer, Sasuke's being further down the hallway - but immediately the thought of just how ruined the room was made it obvious he couldn't take him there. Not only that, but he felt dread fill him up at the mere idea of leaving the blonde in that room; surely it would be more easier to take care of him in Sasuke's much more calming room? The blue wall, green carpet and orange bed sheets in Naruto's couldn't possibly be good for the exhausted teen. The dark magenta, brown carpet and dark curtains however…

"Come on dobe, before you start coughing up blood."

No retort came back at him, though he truly couldn't be surprised, what with how the boy was simply concentrating on breathing, his whole weight effectively leaning on the older teen [could you really call a nineteen year old a "teen"?]. Sasuke didn't need to make contact with skin, he could feel the heat practically radiating off the younger man, reporting that Naruto was incredibly hot. A small scowl graced his pale features; guilty for the almost invisible tinge of red that sprang up at the _numerous _meaning behind the observation. No. He wouldn't allow such disgrace. Naruto wouldn't appreciate it, being ogled while in such a state - and Sasuke's sanity sure as hell didn't too.

Perfection seriously was _not _overrated.

The pair slowly stumbled their way across the living room, watching out for the countless shards of glass, though it was mostly Sasuke trying to half-carry Naruto in hopes the latter wouldn't further injure his already bleeding feet. After the time-consuming trek, they were stumbling around in the kitchen, avoiding the kitchen island, the stools that brought an odd twinge as to just how everything had perfect been merely days ago, stopping a moment to allow Naruto to rest; the small movements he made taxing on his already worn-out body. Once rested enough, they began again, making the rest off the kitchen in small time, now in the hallway that seemed to stretch far too long for the Uzumaki's tastes. The blonde boy frowned at the passageway, as if trying to will it to shrink with his eyes and eyes alone, though on seeing the walls not budging, sighed heavily and prepared himself. Slowly, they began, one of Naruto's arm held over Sasuke's shoulder, the Uchiha's free arm holding the blonde at the waist - and it was only on noticing this that Naruto felt immense gratitude for the patience the Uchiha was demonstrating. He couldn't help but rest heavily on Sasuke, on the first real person outside that building he'd been apparently created in [even if including Iruka-sensei] he had seen - on the first real person Naruto was sure he could call a friend. A string of depression pulled at his heart; sure, Naruto could call Sasuke a friend, but the blonde was sure the Uchiha only saw him as a nuisance. There was no way someone so _incredible _and _always cool_ could think of a blithering "dobe" as anything but just that.

Once more, he found himself glaring at the hallway. As the pair hobbled along, they reached the door that led to Naruto's bedroom, said door now practically holding on with the last hinge that remained intact after the countless abuse it had received; wide open, showing the full extent of the carnage that had taken place inside the room. There were blotches of blood, large, dark ones, with small stains accompanying them, and Naruto winced at the fact he couldn't remember whether they were his own or Sasuke's. He remembered well the scar that would probably remain on the dark-haired man's stomach, but many of the time after that were in blotched memories, in few, and highly blurred. But the look on Sasuke's face as he had been tied up in that bed was as clear as Naruto's blonde hair. The way those eyes had look, dark obsidian, still capable of showing rage, indignation with a questioning tint, despite the fact that even the pupil seemed melted into the black of the iris. Sasuke didn't stop however once they reached the door, instead still patiently moving on with the wounded Naruto in his arms, and the AI was confused to see them passing his bedroom, having been sure he would be deposited on his own bed. Shooting a questioning look to the black-haired companion, Naruto almost gaped as he saw the full concentration on the other's face, the close proximity allowing him to even see one, lone, bead of sweat travelling from the hairline down towards the neck, leisurely taking it's time, only then once more realising that the other was starch naked save for the pants that were far too low to be correct. He gulped audibly, though Sasuke had probably only taken it for Naruto finding it hard to carry on considering how he slowed down considerably, relaxing what had been a tight grip on the other.

Keeping quiet, Naruto urged forward, trying to take initiative, picking himself up slightly from Sasuke. It was easier to use the other's shoulder as support, and the first time he stumbled clumsily, though didn't fall or even waiver with the strong grip on his waist, tentatively taking another step, wincing at the pain that shot up from his feet. With that pain, his whole body slowly began throbbing, dimly at first, yet was picking up slowly as they got closer to the master bedroom, to Sasuke's bedroom. Once they were standing in front of the perfectly safe door, Sasuke kicked it lightly, with enough force to open it, but not enough for it to bang off the wall and slam shut right in their faces. The pair walked through, careful not to bump into the frame, and once more Naruto was leaning heavily on the other, his eyes drooping already, his body sagging with exhaustion and pain.

Noticing the signs, Sasuke hastened to get to the bed, moving apart the sheets and laying the almost asleep blonde onto it, tugging the sheets around him once more. He would have smirked at the sight of the blonde already fast asleep, but found that he himself was actually far too exhausted for even that simple gesture. Slowly, he forced his aching body to close the curtains, throwing the room into a soothing darkness, and with a brain and it's reasoning long shut down, crawled into the other side of the King-size bed, pulling the sheets over himself, and getting comfortable; feeling hazy, blank, slightly dizzy.

The Uchiha was asleep in seconds.

* * *

_Riiiiinngggg, riiinggggg, riiinnggggg._

An irritated growl escaped the youngest Uchiha's lips as his arm untangled itself and reached over some strange alien bundle to get to his mobile. _Riiingggg, riiinggg, riiinggg. _He could have sworn his mobile should have been on vibrate; lord knew he hated anything but vibrate, but the constant ringing begged to differ, splitting across the obsidian-eyed male's ears, making his whole head feel as if it were vibrating. Dimly, he noted that it could be either Itachi or Minato, hope already beginning to blossom itself in his chest, and he scrambled-- _'no, Uchiha's don't __**scramble**__,' _-- _moved _further over the still present bulge in his bed to the drawer that was close by, not questioning where said drawer had come from. Once his fingers wrapped around the bottom of the blackberry, he picked it up and fell over onto his own side, letting out a breath of relief as he checked the caller ID.

There was a reason why Uchiha's rarely _hoped_.

The caller ID was none other then Hyuuga Neji - the Uchiha frowning at the suddenness of it; dimly wondering where the hell the Hyuuga had gotten his phone number from - clicking the little red phone button; refusing the call. When you were the son of a multi-billionaire company and lived like it; getting cell phone number's wasn't really an obstacle. As for why he refused it; well what the hell did Neji have to do with him? The Uchiha hated the Hyuuga, not for the obvious stupid rivalry between the Uchiha Corps and Byakugan Bank; but the Hyuuga was a high-strung, typical rich brat. He frowned again, knowing full well people considered _him _to be the exact same. Like hell he was; for one, he _earned _the things he had, dammit! Heck, _everyone _knew of Sasuke's personal distaste for Neji, including the Hyuuga, his little freak of a cousin was better off in the younger Uchiha's eyes, what was her name…? Hinata….?

"Yeah… Hinata…"

'…' Huh, the voice was coming from the foreign bundle in his bed. The foreign bundle _right next to him_ and _cuddling up to him_. Sasuke's frown turned into a scowl, his brain suddenly catching up with everything that had happened the previous night, realizing then that Naruto had quite literally _croaked _out what he'd said - also meaning Sasuke had probably been muttering out loud. Feeling the sudden urge too, Sasuke pulled the blanket off the younger male, only so that it didn't cover him all up like before, exposing the head. Immediately, he placed a palm on the now-revealed forehead, pushing the blonde strands away from the AI's face, feeling it far too warm to be normal. Despite being wrapped in the heavy comforters of the bed, Naruto seemed to still be shaking in what Sasuke guessed was cold, sweating with the fever to the point that his hair was damp and sticking to his face.

Once more, the mobile began ringing.

Irritated, the caller ID shows Hyuuga Neji once more, and the Uchiha's thumb was already hovering over the little red phone button, fully well intending to refuse the call so bluntly again - praying to any deity that could every exist that the damn Hyuuga _took the hint_. A hot hand grabbed his wrist, weakly, squeezing a bit to get noticed, though even the squeeze was far too weak. Sasuke looked over, the scowl on his face reaching the point where it would probably stay permanently, hearing Naruto try and croak out some words.

"Don't… Just see… What he wants…"

It only hit the Uchiha then, that the ringing was probably ear-splitting to Naruto at the least, if not downright torture for the still-sickly boy, but Sasuke was certain that Naruto wasn't telling him this just to shut the damn mobile up, but because the _dobe _had this stupid thing of giving _everybody _the benefit of the doubt. Stupid, optimistic, cute, blond.

"Fine." He growled out, returning back to the _still ringing _phone and moving his thumb over to the green little icon, pressing it and bringing it up to his right ear, his left hand helping him support himself on the bed. Neji was an annoying imbecile, and Sasuke was damn right sure that the Hyuuga had absolutely nothing to do but taunt the Uchiha with crap about destiny and fate (the boy was obsessed with such things). The Uchiha wouldn't really be surprised. And that's exactly what it seemed to be right off the bat, the deep baritone voice smooth across the line, drumming its way into Sasuke's ear.

"Is it fun? Having an A.I. to play around with."

Naruto watched from his bed, his eyes half closed, his breathing laboured. But he would still bloody well keep on watching; because Sasuke had forgotten that last night he had gone to sleep without even putting on a shirt, and was now sitting upright shirtless, his hip below covered by the blankets, the pants probably under, though the bed comforter gave the illusion of a very _naked _Uchiha. And Naruto knew that he could _leer _all he _bloody well wanted _thanks to this _annoying _fever of his. The heavy blush was probably mixed with the flush of the fever. The lust in his eyes was probably part of the haziness, the way a sick person's eyes always look soft and sort of glazed over. His forehead still burnt from where Sasuke's palm had touched him, the small contact fully waking him up, though _that damn god forsaken phone _had been part of it too. Watching Sasuke turn it off, only for the damn thing to ring again, had been amusing, especially the scowl that was threatening to freaking _lodge _itself into the pale man's face, though really, the ringing was annoying. So of course, he'd told Sasuke to just bloody damn pick it up, he was a sick man after all! And Sasuke had complied! The immense happiness Naruto had felt at that one word of submission [_ooooh, submission~_] had elevated to bounds unknown.

But then Sasuke's face dropped.

'_Huh? Did something happen? What does Neji want…?' _Naruto watched on, opening his eyes further as he peered from his position into Sasuke's face; noticing the slight opening of the eyes that indicated surprise, and the way his lips opened slightly in a small 'o'. From the time Naruto had spent with Sasuke [a couple of weeks? Wait, had it even been a month yet?], he'd come to learn that it took very little to surprise the taller-by-an-inch-or-two male. So whatever Neji had just told the Uchiha, it had to be big. Which meant it was really bad. Which in turn began nagging at Naruto, who poked himself further from the comfort of the blankets, trying to get Sasuke's attention, a question on his face.

Sasuke didn't respond, raising a palm in a sign of _"Be Quiet" _to Naruto, who only became even more curious when he saw the Uchiha pay _deep _concentration to what the Hyuuga was probably saying. Faintly, Naruto could hear the muffled voice of the other, frowning himself as he tried pushing himself up to sit, mimicking Sasuke's position. He tried peering into the other's face; now an unreadable mask, which only tore at Naruto's insides more. From shock to mask. Definitely not a good sign. Of course he was Sasuke's A.I., Sasuke's Artificial Intelligence; it was part of Naruto's job and programming to fully record his _master's _personality, quirks and pattern, and make a note of it as soon as possible. Needless to say, when Sasuke opened his mouth to hiss out his reply to Neji; Naruto's frown became one of worry, his ears trying desperately to hear what the other was saying.

"What do you want, _Hyuuga_?"

It was all but hissed, pure and utter loathing invading more then just the voice. The previous mask of a face twisted into hatred, into deep loathing; and Naruto could only wonder _just what the hell _Neji had said to _incur _the almighty wrath of a _very pissed off _Uchiha. Silence rained across the room, falling thickly around the pair as they both stopped breathing, one in anticipation of what the other would do, while the latter waiting for a reply. He didn't seem pleased when he got one.

"No."

By now, Sasuke was practically fisting the sheets underneath his body, the material scrunching up beneath fingers of iron grip. He really looked angry. "… No." Again, silence, obviously a reply being returned while Sasuke paid attention. For one split second, Naruto saw obsidian eyes glance towards him, almost --_dare he say it?-- _hesitantly, but the expression disappeared just as fast as it had come; causing the blond to wonder whether it had been real or not. A sigh caught the A.I. from his wonderings, and he saw anger flick through Sasuke's eyes.

"You are _despicable_, Hyuuga. **No.**"

The youngest Uchiha made a move to move the phone away from his ear and turn it off, but as soon as he even began doing such a thing Naruto saw his eyes widen once more in a _much _more larger manner then they usually did to indicate he was surprised. This wasn't just _normal _surprise either, but a _dumbfounded shocked_ one. The slithering of dread began pooling in Naruto's stomach. Sasuke's mouth was opened in a small 'o', his skin far too paler then his usual marble-like complexion, looking more like a corpse that had been dead for years then a living, breathing human. But that wasn't where it ended; Uchiha Sasuke _actually _stuttered. Uchiha's don't stutter. _Sasuke _does not _stutter._

"W-What…?"

But he did.

And it didn't last long; naturally. Without another word, the Uchiha turned off the phone, stood up and did something Naruto would have never expected. _He threw the phone against the wall_. And it crashed and broke with the strength of the Uchiha's right swing, crumbling to the floor. While Naruto lay in shock, Sasuke stalked out of the bedroom, leaving the blond to himself, and Naruto found himself lying back on the bed fully, staring at the ceiling above, still slightly dumbfounded by the _pure outrage _he had seen flicker across Sasuke's face as he had thrown what could only have been a _pretty expensive damn phone_.

Before he could even grab any sort of comprehension from the strange morning [as he could tell from the light behind the curtains], Sasuke came back in, slowly, as if uncertain of how to move his own body, walking towards the bed. Naruto merely glanced at him as the Uchiha sat on the bed, watching as pale teen slowly turned to face his blonde counterpart; a blank face, never a good sign.

"Naruto… Just how important was Minato to you…?"

* * * *

'_Minato…? Arashi…?' _It took a bit to connect the name to the nickname the man in question was usually referred too, unconsciously brightening up at the mention of Minato, the head scientist that had taken care of the whole Artificial Intelligence Project and it's Research Centre. True, he was surprised, and he knew his eyes were wide slightly in curiosity as well as a silent question of _'Why?'_, but instead Naruto decided to think out his words carefully and answer the obviously _not-well_ Uchiha.

Oh crap, maybe the Uchiha had somehow been infected by that Kyuubi?

'_**Don't wish on it, brat.'**_

Naruto mentally sighed, hearing the inner voice rumbling with it's deep pitch, putting his attention back on the matter at hand. Minato had always been something like a role model, like a father figure, just as much as Iruka-sensei from that Academy school had ended up becoming - Naruto would usually visit the scarred teacher every morning before going to the University. The man, Minato, rarely ever seemed like a scientist, or whatever it was that his actual job entailed, but more like a father taking his young son to the park to play some ball. The elder blonde haired man would take Naruto around the building, play with him in the facility's large gardens, take him to the cafeteria and even teaching him random things like how to use the coffee machine [though he always told Naruto that he was too young to be drinking coffee] and so on. So of course, Naruto pretty much loved the man, was fond of him to no bounds.

And so he told Sasuke.

"Eh… He always took really good care of me, and treated me like a…" He hesitated slightly, hating the way he had phrased the sentence. "Like a real person… Not an A.I…. I… I really love him, something like a dad… I guess… WAIT--"

It had taken all but two minutes for Naruto's brain to catch on. _'Why is Sasuke asking me?'_ Did it have anything to do with what Neji had said? MAYBE SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED! For a brief second, Naruto was blissfully ignorant, but after that second the slither of dread that had early been in his stomach began festering, growing larger, almost choking him in a fashion similar to panic. "S-Sasuke… Why…?"

Something like pain flashed across the normally stoic Uchiha, an expression Naruto had yet to have ever laid eyes on, and even then it left just as quickly as it had come; baffling the younger blond into wondering whether he was going crazy and seeing things that weren't truly there. This whole morning, heck, _even last night_, seemed all too surreal, seemed to be just happening out of the blue. Why couldn't the pair just stay in one room for more then a month without anything outright _weird _happening, huh?! But despite as much as Naruto would have wanted to return to the previous state of ignorant bliss [heck, even the pain from last night would have been perfectly welcomed at this point], he knew that something big was going on. Something that had to do with Sasuke, Neji, himself and… Possibly Minato…

Just what the hell had happened?

* * * *

Sasuke didn't know what to do. He mask was falling off, blurring at the edges, and he could see Naruto's cerulean orbs catching every drop of security, catching _everything _with those ocean-like spheres that had always caused a stir in the older teen's loins.

There was nothing he could do about what Neji had just dropped on him; a bombshell no less, and he knew it was sudden, out of place, absolutely blue. But it was life. Fate. Whatever the damn Hyuuga liked to babble about. And the Hyuuga had certainly enjoyed doing so; showing an almost uncanny sadistic nature, one Sasuke hadn't previously known the silver-eyed boy was _remotely _capable off. And the Hyuuga had most certainly added his take on fate and how it had caused this _catastrophically large _bombshell to drop and explode. Not to mention something about how it was probably the Uchiha's bad karma finally rearing it's ugly head back at him. _'Please,'_ As if an _Uchiha _believed in _karma_.

After asking the question, he listened intently to Naruto's words, catching each drop, refusing to show anything, and paying far too much attention to _Naruto_'s body language, his own stomach chock full with dread at the fondness he saw in the other's eyes. He finally let out a deep sigh, some of the tension in his shoulders leaving momentarily, only to return one more with a vengeance. And the blonde could only cock his head in curiosity, silently asking Sasuke for some sort of explanation.

When had everything drained itself into the gutter?

Naruto caught the sigh, cocking his head slightly to the side, his cerulean orbs unknowingly projecting numerous emotions all at once; worry, confusion and most of all curiosity. He could see every detail of an internal struggle take within Sasuke's mind, the eyes far more expressive then they could ever and would ever be, and the blond felt bad for the little bit of pride in _witnessing _[and he had an odd feeling that he had also somehow _caused_ it] what probably only Itachi-san had ever witnessed. Probably. Sasuke could be a _very _stubborn bastard when he wanted to be.

"Sasuke… Tell me what Neji said…"

The obsidian-eyed male turned to look Naruto in the eye, finally deciding on something after a few more seconds ticked away. Dimly, Naruto wondered what time it was, being unable to tell from just the brightness obscured by the curtains in the dark bedroom. Either way it didn't really matter, so he dropped the thought just as quickly as it came, focusing on Sasuke and Sasuke alone. The Uchiha now had his undivided attention. And the Uchiha knew it.

Another deep sigh, as if resigning himself to something, and Sasuke finally began opening his mouth to speak.

"Neji… Knows you're an A.I…"

Wide cerulean eyes stared back, drinking in the information. It took a bit for his brain to figure out all the implications this would bring. Obviously Sasuke had informed him who exactly Neji was. Not just _who _the weird-eyed man was, but _what _he was; i.e. in terms of social ranking, family, all that stuff. And _Byakugan Bank. _Naruto now knew that Neji was quite literally Sasuke and Itachi-san's sworn rivals, that the Hyuuga's were _very _into their own research of A.I. and were quite _pissed _[to speak lightly] of… Naruto… Though previously they only knew him as "the A.I. who is being put in it's 'last testing'". But know they knew _where _that A.I. was, what _name_ and _identity_ of the A.I. plus they even knew _who _was supervising/being the guardian of said A.I.

And heaven forbid if they would just sit back and let it slide.

"He… Tried bribing me into allowing to… _Loan…" _The last word was hissed rather then spoken. "You…"

After some time of letting it absorb into him, slowly, Naruto nodded his head, also wondering why Sasuke had spoken with such loathing of that word. But that made sense with all the "No"'s that had taken place in the conversation. Nodding his head again more firmly, he silently encouraged the older male to carry on, but Sasuke shook his head, indicating that that was all their had been to the conversation.

But Kyuubi began whispering that it couldn't be. The deep voice began reasoning with the confused blonde; So Neji had asked to _loan _Naruto [the blonde slightly shuddered at the prospect], then Sasuke had quite literally outright refused such a thing [_**Isn't that sweet, he doesn't want to share~**_]. But then afterwards, Neji had said something that had done something no Uchiha would usually do. He had shocked Sasuke. Meaning he had said something _big_ then, meaning that that wasn't the last of the conversation, meaning _**Sasuke is hiding something from you.**_

He was about to voice his opinion; somewhere feeling proud with his quick thinking, somewhere hearing Kyuubi rumble about never receiving credit for anything, but a faint knock had him shutting his mouth again. Sasuke didn't seem to notice it, his eyes looking distant, indicating he was in some form of deep thought. Maybe some Uchiha form of meditation. But once more the knocking sound reached Naruto's ear, this time louder, stronger, breaking Sasuke out of reverie also.

They both looked at each other slowly, silently agreeing that it would be best to go see who it was, and began to get off the bed. Sasuke moved fluidly off towards the bedroom door, but stopped as soon as he looked back to see Naruto standing there dazedly looking down at his own body. The tanned, golden skin was scarred with cuts and bruises, some cuts being longer then five inches, some bruises barely there, and almost every part of his skin was stained with some form of blood. Before Sasuke could even begin saying anything, Naruto smiled sheepishly, a hand moving to scratch at the back of his head.

"Eeeh, I guess I'll just go take a bath first. You go ahead and open the door, 'k Teme?"

Wordlessly, Sasuke left the room. His own form of an 'Okay'.

As soon as he reached the kitchen, he heard the telltale sounds of a scratching on his door, meaning someone was putting in keys; meaning the someone was Itachi. Relief flooded the younger Uchiha's veins, though he refused to show any outward signs of it, as he began crossing the kitchen and reaching the living room just in time to see the door opening. He was ready to start questioning, raging, ranting and down right guilt-tripping the elder of the two when instead, he stared unabashedly at the figure in front of him, limping to take off his shoes, pale as a ghost and seeming to be more like six hundred [600] years old then the mere twenty-six [26].

Uchiha Itachi stood after placing his shoes on the shoe rack, having not yet noticed his younger brother, and sighed for the umpteenth time that day, his whole body aching, his limbs seemingly far longer then they used to be, making him feel lanky rather then the perfectly proportional Uchiha that he was. After placing a bag that contained his laptop on the floor next to him, he finally looked up to see where his younger brother and the blondie were, seeing a smaller version of himself staring wide eyed at him; obviously shocked at Itachi's state. Well, what could he do about it? The elder Uchiha was still in his suit from yesterday, having gone to attend a meeting with Minato and his wife riding in the same car as him. The suit itself was freckled with dust now, wrinkled beyond repair, torn in places not truly all that important, and seeming to have gone through a jungle survival trip. Itachi's hair had lost it's band that he usually used to hold it, the long strands looking mussed and messy, no matter how much he had tried to smooth it down, and even his hair held some traces of dust in it. The sleepless night had caused the older brother to look far more paler then usual - because despite what you might think; Itachi always slept healthily, if only _because _he knew he should. Besides, he'd been told he looked far too frightening when he went on sleepless nights and such.

And obviously, he was beginning to freak out Sasuke.

He sighed again, moving as best as he could with the pain in his left leg, but stopping short just as his surroundings finally began making themselves known. _'Oh… My…'_ The whole living room was trashed, looking just like the carnage he had just come back from this morning, no, not from his office, nor the Uchiha Compound he lived in, but from… From…

"Dear brother…" He began, turning slightly to look at his younger brother; seeing the shirtless boy, the mussed hair of his own, and… And… Was that a _scar _on his stomach…? "I… Was not aware you were into tattoo's…"

Sasuke disappeared then, turning abruptly and going to the one room Naruto had yet to even look in, the third door in the hallway; the storage room. After a few moments of what Itachi heard of rumbling and small curses, the younger Uchiha came back with two large pillows mostly used to _sit _on rather then _sleep_, dropping them on the floor far away from where Itachi saw was thousands of glass shards from the wall which had previously been all glass, connecting itself to the balcony. Looking at said direction, he saw no glass. Only balcony. And a whole lot of air.

Sasuke sat on one of the pillows, putting the other one in front of him, indicating Itachi to sit, of which he did, gladly. The two pale brothers sat in front of each other, looking each other over, silently assessing what they knew would be the worst week coming to both of them. Maybe karma really _was _dishing out the punishments, huh?

"Didn't you get any of my messages, Aniki…?"

Itachi shook his head. His phone was the last thing he had even bothered to salvage from--- "No, I believe I will need to buy a new one."

Sasuke nodded slowly, feeling that both of them had a story that would be none-the-pleasant at all to tell. And while he had some form of preparation to Itachi's story, Itachi would have none to his own. "Naruto… Was infected…" He began, watching closely for Itachi's reactions.

Of course, Itachi wasn't the type of man who would really control himself in front of his own little brother; the one person he could say he loved dearly and trusted far too much. At hearing what Sasuke had said, his eyes widened slightly in curiosity, making a small noise in his throat, nodding his head in understanding. "And what sort of infection was this, dear brother?"

With a frown beginning to settle among his pale face, he answered. "The sort of infection that happens in a computer." Without waiting for a reply, he carried on, wanting to get it over and done with. "He's been feeling a sort of headache and stomach ache for the last three days, yesterday I told him to take some painkillers and sleep it off. He did, and the next morning he was running a fever so I told him to stay while I went Uni." Seeing a protest form on his older brother's lips, he quickly added, "Because if both of us didn't come on the same day people _would _get suspicious." The protest thankfully died on Itachi's lips, and silently Sasuke was encouraged to carry on, and so he did. "When I returned… Well, look around you, this is pretty much what I saw too. I searched every room, Naruto's being the last one, and when I went there… It… Wasn't Naruto that greeted me…"

He swallowed thickly, remembering how the voice had sounded, how the arm that had held him in place had an iron, steel grip. Itachi didn't miss the action, but kept quiet, fully understanding that if _Sasuke _had been unnerved by whatever had happened, then it must have been pretty… Unnerving… The younger of the pair waved a hand at his own stomach, moving to sit crossed legged so that it was visible to Itachi, and seeing it fully now, the elder could see that it _wasn't _a tattoo, but a scar that had slowly turned into scab, and would probably leave some sort of mark behind. It looked to be in a spiral, with some designs on it; and Itachi had to say it looked cool. With the glare he received from Sasuke, the younger had probably figured out what Itachi had just thought. The elder only hummed slightly in amusement.

"Ah, so Naruto-kun gave you that delectable little… Mark?" His amusement was evident in his voice, not really worried about the story considering that Sasuke was in front of him, sitting here, talking to him; meaning everything was as under control as humanely possible.

Sasuke nodded sharply, his face in a grimace. "It took a while to snap him out of it, and not after… More damage to the place… But yeah; he's taking a shower in my room now."

Itachi nodded knowingly, amusement gone now, his face serenely serious. Sasuke continued to watch his older brother; because however the elder of the two reacted would lead the situation. It was always like that. If Itachi was worried, then that meant that they were in _deep, deep shit_, if Itachi found something amusing, then it meant no worries, at the most, Sasuke would just find himself in an embarrassing spot which would be entertainment to the elder brother. So of course, Sasuke had learnt to read and watch his elder brother's face, his elder brother's body language, and careful choosing of words to form sentences and speech. Because his story wasn't over yet, what he had to say next would lead to Itachi's own story.

"By the way…" Itachi looked up from some deep thinking, looking into the cool, obsidian eyes that bore into his own similar ones. "Hyuuga Neji called."

It took all but a millisecond to catch Itachi's reaction; slight widening of the eyes, the stiffening of shoulders and the atmosphere crackling with tension. It took all but a millisecond for Sasuke to gouge out just how bad Itachi's own story was, to gouge out whether what Neji had said was indeed true, whether indeed they were in _deep, deep shit_.

And they were.

"Naruto-kun… Is taking a shower…?" Itachi spoke, his voice calm, controlled, yet clipped in the way of conspiring, of secret telling. Sasuke only nodded his confirmation.

"Is it true?" He asked himself, boring his eyes into his blood siblings face, feeling an immense gratitude to whatever deity was above that he had Itachi for an older brother, only now realising just how much he was indeed in need of the older man. In return, Itachi only nodded his confirmation.

"Yesterday. While you were busy dealing with Blondie… I, along with Minato and Kushina, were heading towards a meeting with some client… We got to a four-way road. Some drunk driver in a truck decided it would be fun to run the red lights." Itachi sighed here, frustration off the past twenty-four [24] hours beginning to finally catch up to him. His words were dripping with sarcasm, hatred, loathing. "The damn Bentley was completely totalled. Kisame, the driver, practically went unscathed - the man is a monster, I tell you - and as you can see, I merely have a few cramped muscles and a cut or two, nothing more."

'_But Kushina and Minato weren't so lucky.'_

The thought transferred perfectly between the two - it didn't need to be said. And as Sasuke was about to open his mouth, Naruto trotted into the room, his hair slightly damp from the shower, wearing Sasuke's clothes, the dark colours contrasting with the sunny blond hair and bright blue eyes. Naruto, thankfully, looked a whole lot better this time round, seeming more alive and awake thanks to the shower then before. On noticing Itachi, the bright sun-out-of-your-ass smile almost blinded the elder Uchiha, the smile infectious enough to make Itachi's lips quirk up in response. Though the pale adult turned the quirk into a small, polite smile, greeting Naruto with a nod.

The A.I. plopped himself next to Sasuke, passing the glass of shards carefully, sitting in between the two Uchiha brothers, his blonde hair and tanned skin contrasting darkly with the black-haired and pale skinned duo. Grinning at them both, he waited for them to carry on.

Silence began festering the room.

Slowly, Naruto's grin turned awkward, then slightly nervous, and a hand shot up to scratch slightly at the back of his head, something that Sasuke was beginning to notice was a habit. An annoying habit. It always irked the younger Uchiha. So what if he had his own quirks? Thankfully, Itachi was the one to speak up, thus saving the day.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. How are you feeling today?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly, the hand still not removed from it's spot behind his head, and Itachi couldn't help but almost smirk at the bunched up eyebrows on his younger brother; showing Sasuke's… Agitation on Naruto's nervous gesture.

"I'm okay, though…" The youngest looked around at the chaos resembling the living room, feelings of guilt slamming into the two other occupants, making them slightly cringe at just how bad the blonde felt. "… I really messed up this place…" On saying so, Naruto looked down, his hand awkwardly dropping to his sides. Now for sure, Sasuke would hate him. Sure, the elder teen had been incredibly nice to him, even this morning; but it was probably just Sasuke's manners in the way, and the Uchiha had probably been talking of ways to get rid of him to Itachi before Naruto had interrupted. Despite thinking this though… Naruto just couldn't bring himself to believe it. But he still thought it.

"No worries, Naruto-kun." Itachi's voice made him peek through his bangs, cerulean eyes looking into the kind ones of obsidian. Itachi really was a lot different then Sasuke at times, but at others, they were almost twins. "A little remodelling, some touch up of paint… And new furniture too, I suppose, and this place will be back to normal. Not even a dent in dear brother's pockets, right, Sasuke-kun?" Only a grunt of agreement from "Sasuke-kun", though for some strange reason, that had Naruto more happier then receiving a full "Yes, Itachi-nii, that is true." would have.

Maybe he wasn't going to be abandoned.

"Ne, Itachi-san, you don't look so good… Did something happen?"

Immediately, much to Naruto's shock, both brothers stiffened up, paled far too much, and the atmosphere turned tense. Looking from one brother to the other, Naruto was visibly confused, obviously wondering just what the hell was going on, whether he had said something bad, and yes, whether he _had _indeed interrupted a conversation that had been revolving around the abandonment of _him_. He couldn't help but re-ask his question, the last one anyway, directing it to both brothers this time, rather then just Itachi.

"Did… Something happen…?"

* * *

**... I CAN FEEL THE CHILLS OF YOUR EYES BORING INTO MY VERY SOUL TRYING TO MAKE ME EXPLODE INSIDE OUT INTO FLAMES. But the good thing is... I'VE UPDATED. :D Lol jah, you all hate me, I won't be surprised if I don't get any more then 2 reviews, heck, even 1 will be a godsend and a blessing, and I'm always grateful for the things I get. The long wait is due to many things, I'm actually glad I updated back in January, because a lot of things has been happening, none of them sorted out, and more problems arriving. It's almost like everything I've been missing out on before the year 2010 is catching up to me in one full blow. D: BUT ANYWAY. You have this chapter [which I personally think is nowhere _near_ my usual quality, but I'm still really happy with it]. You're probably wondering WHY I'm happy with it, if I don't think it was good. Well, that's because I quite literally forced myself to type this all out, and when I got to the point where my notes had all finished, I continued writing, thought "Screw the notes" and carried on. This chapter was actually supposed to end quite a bit before it did, but even before THAT it was supposed to actually carry on further from where I stopped it. The only reason I stopped it there was because it was a good cliff hanger [not really, since you guys can pretty much guess what happened], and because I couldn't for the life of me carry on. Unfortunately, my notes HAVE finished. All I have is an idea of how I WANT the story to end, but none in how to GET there.**

**I fail miserably. What's worse... Well... Nothings worse. Because despite all this; I will get the next update done in less then a MONTH. Mark my words, I never promised before, nor have I said anything about WHEN I would be updating, but I have now. Oh, and just so you all know, I DO INTEND TO FINISH THIS STORY. It would be absolutely LOVED to get some constructive criticism from all the talented people out there. If you don't know what to say; just tell me whether you like it or not, whether the characters are actually IN character [which I hope they are], whether I'm doing justice to the fact I've placed this story under "Humour" [not as of the last two chapters though... Plot kinda kills the humour] and whether you like the fact I just randomly stuck Kisame in there as a driver, even though I really don't like him [other then a picture I saw of him in spandex... 3]. He'd be an epic driver. And yes, if you've noticed... I do dislike Minato and Kushina [finally know their names. XD] - don't ask me why. I just find them annoying and pathetically weak as hell. -- This coming from the kid who is hoping Naruto will die soon in the manga so the damn story can end. XD**

**Once more, DISCLAIMER: Naruto does not belong to me, will never, even if you pay me for it. I am not a fan of Naruto. I only read it to keep in touch with the major anime/manga population. And I write this because despite my dislike for the manga and utter hatred of anime, I wuv the yaoi pairings to no bounds. Naruto could use a bitch-slap though.... XD  
**


	8. Sign Part 2

**Favourite/Alert Note: **Thanks to everyone who has alerted and favourite'd this story! It's great to know you guys want to read more. 3

_Italics [in the first section] = flashback_

_**bold used with italics is for emphasis while in flashback.  
**_

**DISCLAIMER: I in no way own Naruto, the show, the manga, or the character. If I did [and I'll be honest here], I'd... Have done something entirely different. 8D  
**

* * *

**Last Time;; **"Ne, Itachi-san, you don't look so good… Did something happen?"

Immediately, much to Naruto's shock, both brothers stiffened up, paled far too much, and the atmosphere turned tense. Looking from one brother to the other, Naruto was visibly confused, obviously wondering just what the hell was going on, whether he had said something bad, and yes, whether he _had _indeed interrupted a conversation that had been revolving around the abandonment of _him_. He couldn't help but re-ask his question, the last one anyway, directing it to both brothers this time, rather then just Itachi.

"Did… Something happen…?"

**Instalment 8ight;;**

_**SIGN. [part 2]**_

"_We've arrived at the compound, boss."_

_Itachi hummed in understanding, gazing out of the dark tinted windows to the large building that was coming up into view, enjoying how smoothly the car ended up sleeking onto the driveway, coming to an equally smooth stop in front of the large gates that led to the house. Now Itachi was a good man, and a good boss too; he had to give credit when it was due - and most certainly, Kisame was one of his best drivers to date. Not only did the man drive perfect, but he followed orders without questions, even when you told him which turns to take, or how to drive - the man did it wordlessly. As well as being obedient, he didn't ask questions, kept his mouth shut, and could be trusted to give his honest opinion when Itachi needed outside views. Like whether a client was worth it or not. And the older man always had some sort of fish snack on hand. Oh, and he doubled over as a bodyguard. Add the fact that the man had blue freaking hair and you were good to go._

_Kisame was Itachi's personal driver and personal bodyguard. And Kisame __**actually **__got along well with __**Minato**__._

_That alone had Itachi giving the blue haired, fish-loving man a pay-rise, because not __**once **__in Itachi's life had the Uchiha seen someone other then himself who could handle the eccentrically blonde haired man. Sure, there were people who were able to get through a couple of hours and then swear to never do so again now and then; but joke and play and converse and plan and plot and __**be so bloody perfect **__with a man like Minato… Unbelievable._

_But it was too bad that Minato's wife Kushina hated Kisame, and Kisame didn't seem too fond of the wife either. Whenever the two were even in eye-range of each other the atmosphere would crackle with tension and poorly hidden hatred. Though honestly, it was mostly Kushina; Kisame was just returning her feelings back with a pink ribbon on top. Anybody that disliked him he disliked back. That was just the kind of person he was. But why Kushina hated the man was unfathomable; Kisame was capable of perfectly handling both Itachi and Minato for days on end, not at all perturbed by their strange dynamics of a relationship. It even seemed to entertain him. Oh, and the blond haired genius and blue haired muscle both had another thing in common._

_They loved torturing Sasuke._

_Every time the younger Uchiha was in range; heck, even when he wasn't, the two would seemingly plot, without even exchanging a word, then speed through their work in excitement for whatever they'd just come up with. Itachi had actually started feeling sorry for Sasuke, and had tried countless times to help out his little brother when he was in the clutches of the other two. That was; until Minato used his… Unorthodox skills to get rid off the elder Uchiha. Let it be known that a pink-haired Uchiha was not a happy Uchiha. And thus, since that time; Itachi had allowed the two to do whatever the hell they wanted to Sasuke, due to fear for his own measly life. Or as the past hinted; his own measly hair._

_He liked it black, thank you very much._

_The car, having stopped for a few moments to pass the security guards, began creeping through the large, now opened, gates, eating up the road as it reached the Namikaze Compound. Though honestly, it could be called Uzumaki Compound too - the married couple __**still **__had no clue which surname to take. What ever could be the big hold-up, you ask? Well, other then the fact that Minato pretty much thought the surname Uzumaki was damn cool, and Kushina had too much of an ego for a damn woman to take the name of a man; there was the fact that it was practically unheard of for a man to take his wife's surname. The two had actually had a child; almost as soon as they got married [hinting that neither really cared for the 'no-sex-before-marriage' policy], but unfortunately the child hadn't survived a little mishap the little group of three had some time ago. Remembering back on it; Itachi could very well remember just how badly it had affected Minato, and the fact that Kushina had never quite been the seem after that. Her current seriousness, current no-game attitude was due to the son they had called Kyuubi, whose name now could not be uttered for fear of disappearing from the face of the earth, nor was legally known by anyone other then the two parents and Itachi._

_And Itachi only knew because he was no imbecile. Minato had been emotionally dead for at least a year or so; Kushina had shut off all and any remaining signs of femininity to the point that she had become a tsunami of cold, cruel judgement. After the particular mishap, the hospital had been helpless in who to call; and on seeing that the only person Minato and Kushina's cell phones had in common being the name Itachi, they had called him and informed him of what had happened. And in all the years of family pressure, of being in the social spotlight, of his irritatingly imposing father, homosexually-active mother and the countless imbeciles surrounding him, Itachi had never felt so helpless before. Ah, don't get him wrong, he didn't go crazy, nor did he start feeling sorry for himself, nor run around like a headless chicken or anything else completely out of character like that - but nevertheless, he had never felt so helpless before in his life. On hearing from the doctors what had happened he hadn't thought much of it; shit happened, people died, move on and get over it, but when he had first laid eyes on Minato [Kushina had been held in another room for some small wounds], when he had first seen the dead, hollow, cerulean eyes that had previously seemed so alive to the point of making even __**Itachi **__look human, when he had seen the dull, dust-filled blonde hair now looking woody… That's when the… Inability to know what to do had washed over the elder Uchiha._

_Itachi would never forget that look._

"_Boss, we're here."_

_Breaking free from his musings, he stole a glance through the dark tinted windows at the gates - the house was not truly big, just very well built - and opened the door, stepping out and closing the door once more only to lean on the sleek black sedan, looking every part the Uchiha that he was. They would have to visit Sasuke and the A.I. today; it would be good to drop off after the meeting, especially so considering all three of them would be together. Ah~ Hopefully the apartment would be in better state then it had been a while ago when he'd first dropped off the A.I. Just thinking back on his little brother's expression made Itachi's day. His little brother truly was too cute for his own good._

_The dark-tinted window of the driver's seat rolled down, a spike of blue hair sticking out, propped up by an arm on the window sill [do cars even have window sills?]. Itachi rose an elegant eyebrow towards the blue-man, not at all perturbed by his driver's lack of professionalism. After almost two years with Kisame; he'd become more of a family friend then an employee. Not to mention the guy was crass, crude, and blunt. And he hadn't exactly seen Minato for a while now; so Itachi could only assume he was excited._

"_Yo!"_

_And there was Minato, in all his blond-haired glory, that creepy smile on his face more genuine then most would have thought. Kisame began grinning madly; waving a hand like crazy, and Itachi could only raise the already-raised eyebrow further as Minato practically jumped through the driver's window, now half in half out; a string of rather colourful curses coming from the bodyguard as he was most-likely molested in his seat-belt. Soon after, Kushina glided out of the door, her heels making clacking noises as they hit the pavement; strong, precise, cold. She gave a nod in Itachi's direction; always impersonal at the start, and gave no indication of acknowledgement to the Minato-filled Kisame, climbing into the back of the car without a second glance._

_Itachi mentally shrugged, not really caring much for the woman. The Uchiha and the Uzumaki were not friends, merely acquaintances through Minato. It had always been like that, and always would be. At most, Itachi would be Kushina's husband's-friend, a distant 'family'-friend - and only after that particular accident. Itachi didn't care. He didn't need the attention of an ice-prick woman, he had a thousand more begging to bear his children, including some simply begging because they __**couldn't**_**. **_Kicking what little he could see of the still-half-way-inside-the-car-window-Minato, Itachi moved to the passenger seat next to the drivers, satisfied when he heard Minato seating himself next to his wife. Kisame tried to regain some resemblance of an orderly appearance, but the damage had already been done. What Itachi had thought to be Minato molesting Kisame had turned out to be Minato with-scissors molesting Kisame. The suit the other wore [only because Itachi had been adamant on that] was cut in places, the black tie had been lopped off, and there were very small and inconspicuous blue strands of hair in places other then the driver's head._

_Glancing in the mirror, Itachi could see a very satisfied Minato._

"_To the meeting, boss?"_

"_Indeed."_

_So they began driving off. Exiting the compound, making little talk. In any other case, if the car was only occupying Itachi, Minato and Kisame, the latter two would have been chatting away like old friends, Itachi simply watching out of the window. But Kushina's presence always made things solemn, always made things seem… Serious; and for once, Kisame didn't bother trying to __**fight the power **__as he always did - by striking up conversation with her husband, out of all people, and dropping hints of insults towards the woman every now and again. Like: "I see your ears are still intact and not bleeding." and "Do you ever get night terrors? I know I would if I were you." A solemn silence encased the car as it drove out of the married couple's house, hitting a main road, the car sleeking like a lounging panther - Itachi loved this feeling the most._

_And it was here that the inevitable happened. Every soul, once climbing into a car, gave themselves over to the risk of an accident. There was, is, and will never be a way to prevent an accident; if it is written down in stone by whatever ruler of fate, then it will happen. Of course, that doesn't imply driving like a madman, or walking blindly into the middle of the street and choosing it as a convenient picnic spot - quite the contrary. It would be considered wise and responsible to drive within the limits established by whatever government ruled that land, as well as looking right, left and right again when actually crossing the street. But even then, in the end, the grand design of things can not be allowed to be messed up due to your one pathetic excuse of a life __**still **__existing. Meaning if your time is up. It's up._

_Hopefully you'll go out with a bang~_

_Reaching an intersection, Itachi noted that the green light was still green, more so as the car continued to glide towards the middle of the four-way. Kisame was to the left of him, and he remembered distinctively looking over to his driver's side, planning on speaking - though what he had been planning to say he could not remember - only to notice the chaotic swerving of a car heading in their general direction. With mild amusement, Itachi remembered noting how closer it seemed to be getting to them, especially so considering cars from the left should be at a stop due to the red light. With noticing the car, whatever he had been planning on saying was changed to making an offhand comment about the speeding car; believing that Kisame was fully well aware of it - though his belief was refuted only moments later. About to speak to Kisame, Itachi only then finally noticed that Kisame's attention was perfectly focused on the road in front of __**him**__. Itachi only __**then **__noticed that the car really was in a risky situation where it could collide head on with __**them**__. From the corner of his eyes, Minato seemed to have caught onto Itachi's poorly concealed expression - slightly wide eyes, lips parted in a small 'o', left hand slightly raised -, questioningly turning to see what the eldest Uchiha was looking at._

_Itachi never got a chance to see Minato's expression. By the time the other just turned his neck, the car made an almost sickening collision with their own, no words spoken [or shouted], the only noise being of metal crashing into metal, of their own whiplashes sounding as if their necks had snapped apart, of the sickening pain overriding their systems. Itachi, being the furthest away from the collision, blinked open his eyes, wondering when he had closed them, slowly realising that his senses were acting very dull. After a few more blinks of his eyes, he noticed he was on the floor, pavement was underneath him. The second thing he noticed was that his body ached all over. He felt too groggy [strange, he didn't think Uchiha's could feel groggy] and disorientated [granted, he had just been in an accident] to take an inventory of his injuries; so he skipped right ahead to the next thing to notice._

_Sound. At first, it started off as a dull whisper, then a small beat, as if the drums to a slow song, slowly getting noisier, more sounds joining the first. He could distinctly hear the crackling of fire, the sound alluding me, followed by the sounds of whispers, which soon became the voices of people [and not exactly low ones too]. Mustering up what he could [because hey, there were three other people in his company], Itachi tried heaving himself up on two arms that seemed to hold no energy, raising an eyebrow at his arms which seemed __**weak**__ all of a sudden; finding amusement in the fact he was dealing with this whole situation in odd detachment. Once properly propped up on his arms, he raised his heavy head to look straight in front of him, and blinked countless times to get rid of the sudden nausea and blurriness that invaded his whole being. The first thing his eyes latched on were blue. A blue shock of hair, only recognising it to be Kisame after minutes of pondering. Slowly turning his head, he searched for his other two companions, seeing no blonde that indicated Minato, and no woman that indicated Kushina [she was a woman, who knew whether her hair colour was real or not?]. 'That settles it,' he thought, dragging his body up to his knees, then successfully getting up to his feet without stumbling [Uchiha's do not stumble, no?], making his way over to his driver carefully, with purposeful steps. It would do no good to trip up on his own feet when he could see splats of red on the blue hair._

_By the time he had dragged Kisame away from what he'd noticed to be the two cars on fire, the ambulance had arrived, and still feeling oddly detached, he waved them off to find Minato and Kushina for him, perfectly content in having found his driver. Ah, but it would be bad if Minato died. Or Kushina. No, nobody will die. Who dies from a stupid thing like a car crash?_

_Some male nurse guy patched Itachi right up; adding a little bandage here and there, taking care of some cuts and scrapes, checking for concussion - the whole deal. Kisame needed to go to the hospital; something about broken limbs and a concussion, Itachi paid no attention to it. Kisame __**was **__the driver, and considering from what side the car had come from, __**obviously **__the fish-obsessed man would need a trip to the hospital. As Kisame's boss, it was Itachi's responsibility to go with the idiot. And so he got into the ambulance car, claiming to be whatever it was the ambulance said could only go with him - something about family or spouse…? Obviously, even in his slightly disorientated state [which others took for cool and serious], he would have chosen family - it wasn't his fault these imbeciles of health securities couldn't see that Uchiha Itachi looked nothing like the blue-haired Kisame. Honestly, such imbeciles._

_It only dawned on Itachi, while halfway to the hospital with Kisame lying unconscious on a stretcher, that he had left behind Minato and Kushina, who he had no news about, who probably hadn't fared much better then Kisame, let alone him - especially Minato, who had been sitting right __**behind **__Kisame, while Kushina was behind Itachi. A quick question to the driver with the radio ensured that the pair had been found and where being taken to the same hospital as them. Uchiha Itachi did not freak out, nor did he show any signs of agitation, nervousness [for being the only one apparently unharmed - much] or anything else remotely different from the cool exterior of professionalism he always exuded. People knew who he was. They did not know Minato, nor Kushina, especially not Kisame - but they knew him. Everybody knew Uchiha Itachi, and it would be bad for the company, as well as anything else, if he didn't act anything like he usually did. In fact, acting like this [which was actually a sense of detachment rather then control] would bring him much praise. Oddly, he found himself giving a mental thanks to whatever deity was up there that the cars hadn't exploded while he had been there. They could explode after for all he cared._

_That would be too much of a __**bang **__for him._

_It was hours later; with a perfectly awake and grinning Kisame [albeit heavily bandaged with casts here and there] that Itachi found himself being called to a private room with some doctor, and receiving the news that Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato hadn't made the surgery they'd both received due to a whole list of things that should not be happening to bodies; once more filling Itachi with a sense of dread and - dare he say it? - panic that he had only received before when the married couple had previously been in an 'accident'._

_It seemed the married couples + cars were not a good combination._

**- - - -don'cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? ;D- - - -**

"Come with me…"

Itachi looked up, wondering when he had gone thinking through everything that had happened not only yesterday, Sasuke's voice bringing him out of his reverie. The little A.I. still looked apprehensive, wary, and heartbreakingly enough scared - as if he was dreaming up the worst possible scenario's that could ever take place for him. The words Sasuke had spoken came back to Itachi, and he let his eyes look into the face of his little brother's, finding himself marvelling at just how much alike his brother looked to him, enough that someone who knew neither of them would think they were twins were it not for the minuscule differences.

Naruto looked at Sasuke warily, his emotions so obvious that Itachi now finally understanding the phrase "wearing ones heart on your sleeve", wondering how an emotionally inept Uchiha like Sasuke had been able to get along with Naruto. Abruptly, Sasuke stood up, moving the pillow he'd been sitting on with a foot, indicating that he had been serious. Naruto followed his movements with his eyes, and heck, so did Itachi, because he'd figured he'd be the one to break it to Naruto. Among the organization of the funeral, noticing countless of people and all the legal stuff, informing Naruto had been the worst low point of what Itachi knew he had to do. Ah, but telling Kisame had been pretty bad too. Itachi had come to learn that a serious Kisame was… Eyebrow raising to say the least. But for Sasuke to do it, well… Maybe he had missed something important…? Ah yes, the little virus episode which had ended up with the whole apartment trashed…

Surely the two had bonded over such a thing.

"Sasuke--"

"Come on, dobe."

The eldest Uchiha watched on as Naruto slowly began to calm down slightly at what Itachi found to be a very interesting insult, especially so considering his little brother had said it in more of a fashion one would do with a pet name rather then an insult - and Naruto had reacted to it as evidence to it being exactly that; a pet name. Seeing that the two had obvious business to attend too, Itachi stood up from his own seat, dusting off his clothes that he had yet to change - more out of habit due to fully well knowing no amount of wash would get return the suit back to it's previous state - grabbing both the boy's attentions. Nodding his head to Sasuke [an affirmation that he was indeed leaving], Itachi felt the need to confirm, _and warn_, his cute little brother.

"You'll deal with this, I presume?"

"Hn."

After establishing eye contact --_do not mess this up_-- in the Language of the Uchiha's, Itachi gave the little A.I. a reassuring pat on the shoulder; because honestly spoken, out of all the Uchiha's Itachi was the most… Emotionally stable - _he _could smile. _He _could act surprised, irritated, and all those other emotions _normal _people felt - he just did it in a very _Uchiha_-like fashion; I.e. _beautifully_. His act of socialising rewarded him with a small smile and a nod of a blonde head, and soon after Itachi left the apartment, looking at the door after he had closed it, his curiosity with what was happening inside far larger then normal.

Either way, he had to leave, had business of his own to attend, for instance, changing clothes, not to mention passing word of the recent couple of hours to those that were not already aware of it. Hmm… He'd have to speak to Kakashi too… Their were only two people who were linked to the married couple through means _other _then business, and Itachi was _not _looking forward to informing _them _about it.

Aah, hopefully Minato's bank account would hold enough for a suitable funeral.

*** * * three, is the magic number_!_ * * ***

With Itachi gone, Sasuke turned back to Naruto, his mind fully well resolved with how he was going to do this. The two, while having not known each other for long, had always been blunt with each other, painfully so, and Sasuke found no reason why this time anything should be different. What was important was not how to strike the blow - no matter how soft he could make the news, it would still sting the same - but how to deal with the obvious afterwards. If everything went well [and he was an Uchiha, dammit, of course they would go well], then Naruto would cry [even though he didn't want -huh?- the dobe to cry], Sasuke would comfort [or try to, he knew he lacked… Skills in that department], and hopefully Naruto would get it together and they'd be able to live happily together for eve----

…

Swearing mentally, he led Naruto back to the bedroom they'd come from this morning, Sasuke's bedroom looking suddenly inviting as hell to the blonde boy. A firm hand manoeuvred the blonde to sit on the bed, Sasuke looming on top of him in what Naruto should have found an intimidating pose, but only found it to make him feel safe. A brief hesitation seemed to cross over Sasuke's handsome features, but seconds later the Uchiha was seating himself next to Naruto, moving so he was facing the blonde, legs crossed, satisfied when Naruto followed his example.

"Dobe, I want you to listen to me."

Now, facing each other, it was obvious that both males utterly understood the meaning behind their seating position. Sitting crossed legged, with their knees slightly grazing, they were leaving their facial expressions open to the other - there would be no hiding behind hair bangs, because the position wouldn't allow them to hide much - no trying to keep a cool mask of indifference, and Naruto felt his breath hitch at the mere sight of a pair of unguarded onyx eyes. He couldn't tell the difference between obsidian and onyx, all he knew was that neither words would never do justice to the seamlessly endless black of the Uchiha's eyes. Unknowingly to him, Sasuke seemed to be experiencing a similar reaction the moment he looked into big, cerulean eyes, the blond hair falling around said eyes in such a perfect manner that Sasuke felt he was illegally taking a peak at God's creatio---

---Just what the hell? Frowning at his strange inability to control his own thoughts, the Uchiha decided to return back to the main point of discussion. Namely breaking it to Naruto two of his most precious [oh no, he did _not _notice the jealousy raging in his stomach] had most likely moved on to hell, or nothingness, or - if a next life really existed - were waiting to be reincarnated to a snake and a fox. He couldn't be bothered to label the animals to the names. Heck, both would do fine as either.

"Dobe," So much easier to say then the damn idiot's name. Fishcakes? Seriously? What had he been thinking? "While you were busy freaking out and trashing the apartment-- No. Do not give me that damn look. As long as you won't go around breaking my damn plasma TV's I couldn't care less about the place. Hn, in fact, we'll go to the DIY[1] store or something and redo this whole place." The panicked look of guilt disappeared slightly from Naruto's gaze. Where the hell was a DIY store around here anyway? "So… Itachi was in a car with… Minato and his wife…" Cerulean eyes widened once more in panic, God, Sasuke hated that look. "They… Naruto. Dobe. They… Got into a car accident, some idiot crashed into them… You saw how Itachi looked, he went straight from the accident to the hospital and then here, obviously so we would hear it from… Less pleasant sources."

"He… Hear what…?"

Sasuke found his fingers itching slightly, itching to touch something, to fumble about nervously and make him seem less like an Uchiha then he already was. Since Naruto had popped up out of nowhere, the male was finding it increasingly hard to keep his air of… Well… Superiority, to put it bluntly, intact.

"Come on Sasuke, I know you didn't start this just to tell me they got into a stupid little bump with another car. What… Happened?"

The Uchiha sighed, giving in to his fingers, the right hand immediately rising up with it's given permission to comb through his already-ruffled hair. "Minato and… Kushina… Didn't… Make it."

With the news finally out of his lips, he wasn't shocked nor worried when he heard the first choked sob, saw the blond lean down, the mop of incredibly bright hair dropping down with gravity to hide it's owners face. The position did no good, since Sasuke could still see the tears dropping, could still hear the sound of a heartbroken soul, knowing full well that he could do nothing about it other then just… Be there. As cliché as it sounded.

He moved forward slightly, his limbs feeling awkwardly longer then usual, wrapping his arms around the crying blonde, hoping to whatever fate Neji always babbled about that it would be good enough and things would turn out well. Naruto found himself leaning into the hold, digging his face into the other's still bare torso, wrapping his own arms around the other's chest, his hands grabbing onto Sasuke's shoulders from behind.

It hurt him - he had been expecting it the moment Itachi had come that something bad had happened, and had pretty much figured it out when Sasuke mentioned a car and the two people who had always treated him kindly, but it still hurt, still hurt like hell to know that they were gone, that the two people in the whole world that had treated him like a human were gone. Minato had been nothing to Naruto but a father, Kushina like a stern mother - Naruto remembered the other scientists saying that she seemed to actually become _human _around him, and that had always made him feel proud, if nothing else. But for them to be gone… It just made the fact that Naruto really _wasn't _human… _Real_. He was some sort of really-cool robot, a piece of fancy metal, _artificial_. He wasn't really a human, definitely not… Was he?

"**Dobe**. What a stupid question."

The blonde started, looking up with puffy and tired eyes to meet clear onyx, the Uchiha looking down at him with a scowl fixed perfectly on his face. Had Naruto said that out loud? He guessed he must have, because that was the only question he had asked. And of course it was stupid, there was no way he could be human - he really was an idiot for even _thinking _that he might be, or taking Minato and Kushina's affection for anything but for the good sake of their project. Ah, wait, Sasuke was still talking… Huh? He really _was _still talking, but right when Naruto began paying attention, Sasuke went quiet, frowning in irritation when it became apparent Naruto hadn't heard a thing he said.

"Idiot, tell me, what makes a human?"

Surprised and taken off by the question, Naruto stared up at the other's face, seeing nothing but seriousness in it's depths. He thought a second, not feeling like talking too much, so wondering how to surmise such an answer as quickly as possible. It was visible when the answer finally popped into the blonde's head, and Sasuke couldn't keep the amusement hidden for the life of him. Even going as far as for his lips to curl at the corners at the answer he received.

"A heart. Something I don't have."

Such an answer amused Sasuke greatly, so, still holding the boy around him, he decided that this little development might in fact lead to a better direction. "And what, pray tell, is a heart?"

Naruto seemed miffed by the questioning answer, his brows furrowing as he wondered why Sasuke was asking him such a dumb question. He was an A.I! Meaning he was, like… Really clever! Not only that, but come on! He was a med student too! Granted, for not even a month yet, but still! And so, frowning at Sasuke - which actually looked like a pout - he decided to grace the teme with an answer.

"Well d'uh!" Not that he was going to make it any easier. "It's an organ that pumps around blood and shit!"

For some strange reason [but then again, Naruto really never understood the strange complexity of the Uchiha brain] Sasuke seemed to find this even _more _amusing, to the point that the small inconspicuous curl of lips became an amused smirk, Naruto frowning at it before he finally noticed just how close his own face was to Sasuke. He _was _looking up after all, and Sasuke _was _looking down, and the A.I. once more felt miffed by the brightening warmth behind his cheeks; indicating that he was blushing. Before he had time to turn around or do some other blushing-virgin move, Sasuke began speaking again.

"And tell me, oh dear intelligent fishcake," Blush forgotten, the A.I. bristled at the tag. "Whether or not you have an organ that is pumping blood around you or not."

Ah, so maybe Naruto had actually inflicted some brain damage on the Uchiha back when he had been infected. Or maybe Sasuke was really a dumb person underneath all the intelligent outer… Masks! Yeah! Nobody would be stupid enough to ask such a question, and he voiced this fact rather bluntly too.

Unfortunately, the reaction of a growing smirk [that was now oozing of smugness] wasn't what Naruto wanted, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as Sasuke suddenly untangled himself away from the embrace, the suddenly missing warmth almost bringing a whine out from Naruto. Sasuke didn't move to get off the bed though, or go anywhere in fact, only bent down slightly and grabbed one of Naruto's legs with both hands, moving it out so it was outstretched, bringing a satisfactory yelp from the blonde male. He unceremoniously twisted the foot [with another yelp] in the general direction of Naruto, not pushing it into a position that would certainly be painful, but enough that Naruto only had to lean a bit to look at the sole of his own foot - which is possible when one is sitting.

Feeling hell of a lot curious, the blonde A.I. peeked at the sole of his foot, straining slightly to see it, grabbing the damn limb with his own two hands to steady it. There, in not a pretty fashion, were countless evidence of recent cuts, some still looking raw - heck, _all _of them still looking raw. Experimentally, he squeezed one of the larger ones, watching as crimson liquid oozed out, the blood looking beautiful - wondering whether it was normal to think blood looked beautiful. He looked up at Sasuke, letting go of his foot, and shrugged. "Your point?"

Finally, the smirk slowly left the face, much to Naruto's own satisfaction, but was glad when Sasuke moved to sit comfortable again, in front of him, crossed legged once more - mimicking the seating arrangements himself. Sasuke tsk'ed, an odd sound coming from the Uchiha.

"Was that not blood, idiot?" The Uchiha asked, receiving a nod and "Teme!" from the blond. "Well then, you have a body, yes?" Another nod, brows furrowing in distaste at the tone Sasuke was using on him. "So, you have a body and a blood; gee, we're really getting places here."

"Just hurry up and get to the point, teme!"

The smirk came back on the pale Uchiha's face full force, and Naruto would be lying if he said he wasn't curious where Sasuke was taking this.

"When you cut yourself, your wound _kept _on _bleeding_, like any other normal persons. That's because _more _blood is getting to that area, thus leaving through the wound, and _that's _because there's a heart, the organ that pumps 'shit', in your chest, _pumping 'shit' _around. Now, _that _means, _you _have an organ pumping your blood around your body, and _hence_, aah, wait, and _because_ of that -- since I doubt you know such a word as _hence_ -- it means _you _have a _heart_ - the thing that makes humans human."

Silence ensued, Sasuke smirking in victory, while Naruto practically gaped like a fish at him - which was befitting of him, those lips were surely meant to be open in such a… Enticing manner, not that the Uchiha thought so. Oh no, the Uchiha just thought the fishcake looked like a fish. And found humour in that thought. With seconds ticking by, Naruto could only stare and process the information, his mind successfully distracting him from an emotional breakdown of pure _joy_ by randomly reminding him of the trashed apartment. Sasuke broke out of his slight… Inappropriate thinking about lips and fishcakes, only to hear Naruto's curious question.

"… DIY store…? Can we get orange pant…?"

…

"… Fine."

* * *

**[1] DIY: Those goddamn furniture and paints and the whole house-making-stuff shop. Dunno if it's called DIY or DYI or--... I'm sure it's DIY... o.O**

**So there you have it! The next chapter. Albeit, slightly shorter then most of my other chapters; but god I've been writing long ass chapters before haven't I? Either way; expect lots and lots of... Yaoi-ness in next chapter. Oh yes, this is where stuff happens. And I had fun explaining in far too much detail the drive of death. You can see some Deidara references in there. Cuz I wuv Deidara. 3 And I'm thinking up of some other pairings-stories I could use in the AI-verse. Anybody up for a KakaIru? Or a ItaDei? 8D I honestly haven't done anything remotely like those two, but hey, this IS my first Sasunaru [and second fanfic altogether] anyway, so... Hah! I'm going to whore myself out and ASK the WORLD for COOKI---... Reviews. o.o**

**Ya. Reviews. Pl0x. Kkthnx.**

**On a side note; Kisame shall forever be a driver in my eyes. That, and a bodyguard. No seriously.  
**


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